Setbacks: The Diploma of Life

Setbacks are like diplomas; the intention is not to accumulate them, but learn from them. Read on…

The eminent and highly successful founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, started his first company in the 1970s, called Traf-O-Data.

It was not, by any measure, a success.

The company closed soon after it began.

Gates was able to use his setback, however, to his advantage. It gave him valuable experience for his subsequent business ventures.

Life’s Diploma

Idriss Aberkane, a somewhat controversial French Doctor of Management Sciences, Comparative Literature and Neurosciences, believes that this type of setback is important.

In fact, he thinks it is actually a requirement for starting your own company. He says that when a company is successful, it is because the founders had several, and deep, setbacks, beforehand.

The Differences between Europe and USA

A Silicon Valley slogan is “fail fast, fail often, fail early” - failure should not be feared. However, as Steve Jobs said during an interview on FR3 with Christine Ockrent, “the problem in Europe is that failure is very serious, while in the Silicon Valley it is normal: they can spend their entire life failing. But when they fall, they get up and restart. That is the difference.”

Likewise, in the United States, you mention if your company failed. In Europe, generally, it is less talked about, and not put on your CV. People are less open to risk in Europe and more ashamed if that risk backfires.

Examples of success after failures

People who have experienced big setbacks and still succeeded include Steve Jobs, who was fired from Apple before coming back to revive the company, and the founders of Google, who at one stage tried to sell their company but could not find a buyer.

Aberkane’s favorite business setback-to-success example is Airbnb. It began in San Francisco, a city notorious for the difficulty of finding a hotel room at certain times of the year. Consequently, to meet demand, someone thought to sublet the airbed in their living room. As an added bonus, they included breakfast.

Potential investors were unimpressed. So to raise funds, the fledging Airbnb started to sell ‘special-edition’ breakfast cereals to their customers. In a short time, Airbnb sold 800 cereal boxes and raised $30,000. This creative approach caught the eyes of investors, and they soon had many financial backers. Airbnb now operates in 191 countries.

The Dissenter

Ken Tencer, author of “‛Fail fast, fail often’ may be the stupidest business mantra of all time”, explains that nobody should build a philosophy and life around failure. Tencer says you must not focus on the negative, and instead redefine your goals to succeed.
To achieve this result you have to:

• “take a small, smart step
• pause to see what you learned by doing so; and
• build that learning in to what you do next

Entrepreneurs try, learn and refine. It’s not about failing fast or slow, it’s about learning how to win.”

A Better Mantra

Tencer suggests a new mantra “Succeed fast, adjust or move on”. Do not be afraid to try new things, watch the market, and grab possibilities to achieve your goal. Otherwise, just move on because, “investors often hold on to a falling stock too long, entrepreneurs can also sink too much time, energy and money into a doomed concept. That is why doing research, modelling and making continuous refinements are so important.”

Fail fast, fail often, fail early or Succeed fast, adjust or move on?

Both Aberkane and Tencer approach the subject of setbacks differently; Aberkane explains how to behave and react after a setback, while Ken Tencer explains how to behave beforehand to avoid failure itself.

What the two approaches both agree on is to think positively, learn and refine yours goals. Try, but minimize risk. Do not focus on setbacks or let it define your life. Afterwards, redefine objectives. Do not be afraid to talk about the setbacks you faced and what you learnt.

Setbacks are a life experience. They show that you pursued your goal, and that you took charge of your life. You were not a spectator.

Sources:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/risks-starting-new-business-4195.html
https://www.gbnews.ch/the-magic-of-mistakes/