I have failed. So. Many. Times. In fact, I believe my failures are the reasons I’m successful. It is the reason that our WorkFirst strategy has created so many indigenous construction jobs.
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, failure is defined as “a lack of success, the omission of expected or required action, or the action or state of not functioning.” People can fail, projects can fail, and machines can fail among many other things. Dustin Wax, an editor and project manager at Lifehack, asserts; “failure is one of life’s great forces; it’s driven far more innovation than talent, creativity, or necessity combined. “Wax also advises us to not give up. While his perspectives present a great pep talk, surely there must be something more to learn. And that’s the key word, learn. On community projects, there are many people that are not professional project delivery experts. As such, they can let the fear of failure immobilize them. Years ago, while I worked at all global engineering company, they used the word “learnings” rather than mistakes or blame. That subtle shift in vocabulary is key to embracing failure and benefiting from it.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, failure creates extraordinary change. At Bosgoed Projects, we fail to win over eighty percent of the contracts we pursue, but we learn with each failure. It helps us to adjust our approach. I’ve had entrepreneurs say to me, “Gary, you encouraged me to get into business, but I didn’t win that contract.” I then remind them of those slim percentages, and how one must continue to invest the time and, most importantly, learn from those failures. The Entrepreneur article lists the benefits of failure which every leader should be aware of; failure builds tough skin, keeps ego in check, creates aha moments, and propels growth. I am adding my stories to each of them.
“Failure builds tough skin.” I remember the first five times I visited customers. Each of those visits failed for different reasons. I was ill-prepared, late, and nervous. If there was a mistake to make, I made it. It was because of those first five customer visits that the last 1000 have gone very well. I learned or developed that protective layer to shield me from those little bumps and the pain they could bring.
As a professional engineer and project manager, we are trained that failure is an undesirable outcome for any design or project. In our industry, as with many others, we invest a great deal in understanding a risk, following procedures, safety factors, and working with qualified teams. With the WorkFirst capacity building program, we learned everything by planning, executing, and learning from our mistakes. Thousands of construction jobs have been created since its inception.
“Failure keeps the ego in check” – It’s hard to be an entrepreneur without an ego. Clients are very down to earth and an honest approach is key. The more success one has, the more likely it is to be addicted to that success. It may mean doing anything just keep being a winner.
“Failure creates a “A-ha!” moments” – Sometimes we don’t see the pitfall until we have fallen in it. It’s remarkable how blind we can be or how in love we can be with an idea. The mistake can lead to the solution. Don’t let failure lead to retreat.
“Failure propels growth as an entrepreneur” – Everyday I come across things that I have never experienced before. I tried to anticipate and mitigate risks, but there are constant challenges. I am proud of my achievements despite those challenges, and this almost makes up for my lack of sleep.
I know that I’m having a good day when I find myself in my zone of mild discomfort. That is the point that we all need to push ourselves to. In doing so, we realize that we need to learn how decisions are made and what data we need.
With our diverse portfolio of projects at Bosgoed Project Consultants, we see many risks, mitigations and failures on a regular basis. I am particularly proud of my clients and our teams in our collaborations toward overcoming failure. Our success lies in our ability to review what we’ve learned and develop a new plan to move forward, and acknowledge when plan a wasn’t as sound as we thought and additional help is needed. Asking for help is something that I’ve learned to do better as my career has progressed. I impart what I can to my clients to help them avoid failure if possible but learn from it as well.
There’s no way to avoid failure. As well, there’s no way to stop it. It’s wiser to take heart in knowing every successful person has failed, but also note only the bravest have asked for help and found innovative ways to move forward. Everyone you admire has had to struggle to get where they are. Remind yourself of this during the most challenging of moments and benefit from the learnings.
So, that’s my take on failure. Or is my take on success. You decide.
Stay safe and see you next WorkFirst Wednesday.
~ Gary and the staff at Bosgoed Projects
