by Cheryl Marks Young
When was the last time you read a case study about abject failure? When you scroll through the leadership blogs and business publications, how many “lack of success” stories do you skim? It’s true, we relish stories of underdogs, but we don’t get caught up in the unsuccessful parts of those stories for very long. We’re eager to read about the win. Whether it’s our own tale or someone else’s, we want to tune in and focus on the sizzle reel of high points. Yet the value of that tale may not lie in the finish line. There is value in the stumbles and the missteps. Why?
Failure is inevitable, and that’s good, because failure is valuable.
Yes. You read that right. Let’s talk about those case studies again. The elements of these tales that will benefit you most are the parts that cover adversity and the problem-solving that took place to push through those challenges. Simply reading, “She had an idea. She succeeded” is a nice pat on the back. The value lies in, “She had an idea. She tried Plan A to bring it to fruition. It didn’t work. She adapted and tried this. She tweaked it again and tried that. She was successful.” This is the story we need to read.
You Will Fail
Let’s get this one out of the way right up front. If you are dreaming, stretching, and working…