Small Biz Survival

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POV: Learning from Failure

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There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.
Colin Powell

You know that I like to talk about what we learn from failure. So does Zane Safrit. He is talking about why failure is important.

Fridays are all about failure here. It’s the end of the week. A time you should assess what you accomplished. And in many companies, organizations, relationships, the one thing you never discuss is…your failures. Yet, anyone who’s ever accomplished anything more significant than getting out of bed knows all success is on the basis of lots of failures. That’s why success is so swe-e-e-e-t. It’s rare; it’s at the end of hard work; it’s at the end of …lots of failures.

Zane and I seem to think along the same lines. (That’s probably scary for him!) That’s why I’m glad he is contributing to my new small business podcast. (More about that soon!)


Another brave entrepreneur, Marco Terry shares his point of view, when he writes very frankly about failure and changing direction.

I’m going to tell you a story. It’s a story about a strategic bet, a sort of “bet the company strategy” that went very wrong. And what I did about it. And why, perhaps, this strategic catastrophe was a blessing. Really.
…
This has been an important lesson for me as an entrepreneur. I learned that failure is good. Failure can lead you to the idea that turns things around. But more importantly, I learned that the darkest hour in the day, is the hour before sunrise.

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About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

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