Failure Is Not An Option?

By Mike Semanco
President & COO, Hitachi Business Finance

“Failure is not an option!” Really???

How many successful companies have used this line as a way to motivate its employees, to increase sales, become more efficient, improve client service and develop a culture they are proud of? Not one!

As a parent of three teenage children, I would never tell my kids that failure is not an option. I always want them to try new things. That is how kids learn. Mistakes are made, they learn, adjust and go on. How much fun is it spending all your time perfecting your baseball swing and never getting a chance to bat? Kids have a natural tendency to try anything. They don’t have a fear of failing. They scrape their knee and hop back on the skateboard to try the trick again until they get it right. As a parent, you are always concerned but it usually works out in the end.

Most entrepreneurs think the same way. They come up with an idea, do some initial market testing with friends and family, and are ready to launch. They have no fear of failing because if that idea doesn’t get the results they want, they try something else. If that doesn’t work, they pivot, and try again and again until they get it right. That is what makes creating a business or product so enjoyable.

Why is it that some companies create a culture where failure is not an option? Did they start out this way or did they evolve into a stodgy organization? Some companies have success in spite of themselves, but I am sure there was a point in the company’s lifecycle when failure was an option. My guess is that those risk takers left to start other ventures.

In today’s ever changing business world, you have to take risks, albeit as calculated as possible. Failure is an option. That is how companies evolve, employees learn and develop, and great cultures get created. Many of us spend the majority of our waking hours working – why should we do it in fear of making a mistake? Managers and executives should reward employees for trying new ideas and taking calculated risks. At some point in that manager or executive’s career, they took risks and can tell stories of failures they had along the way. Most can then tell you what they did different the second time around. It’s called experience. Why not give your employees the same opportunity and create an environment where failure is an option. It is much more rewarding.