Are you ready to FAIL?
Out of the college, armed with a graduation degree, every fresher feels that they have conquered the world and are ready to make an impact on the society from Day 1. I was no different. At times thinking that it was only me who knew all and had to make others learn about - RIGHT or WRONG.
I got my first job with an organization that was listed on the Forbes Global 2000 list, a company with a market capitalisation of $18.7 billion (as of May 2017). I was one of the 100,000+ employees and the one beaming with a sense of pride on being called part of the organization. Filled with a strong desire to make an impact, I would take up all the tasks that would come my way, thinking that I was making an impact and contributing in my way to the organization growth. However, just like Titanic, the project I was working on sank without a trace.
First job, first major project and first failure.
I was shaken, angry because I along with the team had literally worked 24*7 on this project. Being the young blood, I thought that all we did was right and the project failure was actually a management failure. I felt like questioning the management team on how could they let the project fail? Somehow, I felt it was THEY who were at fault for the debacle.
Today, a decade later, when I look back and retrospect, I realize, that what bothered me at that time was not the failure but the fact that I was associated with the team that failed. I was against the idea of team failure, rather it was convenient to blame the manager.
Whether we accept it or not, passing the blame on someone else helps us to satisfy our ego, nothing else. However what we don't realise is that in long run, not accepting a failure and not embracing the lesson learnt from it, stops us from growing. It is important we understand that failure is a necessary stepping stone to build our dream.
So if you fail tomorrow, do not lose hope. Remember it's okay to fail. By acknowledging and accepting this, you have won half of your battle. Secondly, understand that a failure brings with it an opportunity to learn. Grab that opportunity, learn from it and ensure you never fail in the same scenario again.
This is what I believe in and this is what I communicate to my teams - It's okay to fail, considering you focus on the lesson learnt and have a plan to move forward.
As they say "Every failure is a lesson. If you are not willing to fail, you are not ready to succeed."
Very true Rohit. Unfortunately in our system starting from the time a child enters playway school, he is expected to learn everything in a single day, even though he is simply meant to play there. Somehow, the feeling of being competitive and be successful is inculcated from Day 1 in humans by others. The importance of failure, how to handle it and what to learn from it, is something that everyone starting from a kid to a grown up professional should be taught.
Well said !! The problem is that we measure success with results (actually only good results), but we forget that success lies in the efforts which we make to complete that task. Someone has rightly said that being the best is not important, doing the best is actually what matters. How we bounce back from our failure is actually what makes us sucessful, so each one of us should never hesitate even if we need to bounce back many a times. Failing is not the porblem, its the mindset and the fear that makes people worried.