3 ms·

I agree. Every rational person realizes failure is possible. The most motivated acknowledge that at the outset, when setting up partner terms and agreements, an

I agree. Every rational person realizes failure is possible. The most motivated acknowledge that at the outset, when setting up partner terms and agreements, and never consider it an option again until failure is real. That said, I also think there is an important differentiation between focusing on failure and realizing when its time to cut away from a bad project/idea/concept and adapt. Adapting from incremental failures is critical to success.

jacquesm 17y ago
> Adapting from incremental failures is critical to success. That's an absolute gem. Because that is exactly how it goes. My luck was to be involved in two companies that simply paid me a wage, they had a reasonably good idea at the time, they were good enough in their execution, one was 10 years ahead of its time (the idea has since been adopted and is now common practice), the other failed because of terrible planning and marketing. My gain was as much or more looking from the position of a salaried employee and to learn as much as if it was my own company that failed. If it hadn't been for those two projects I wouldn't have stood a chance in hell with my own business, even today I benefit from that experience. The most important thing you can do if your project tanks is to really sit down and mine it for what its worth with respect to the lessons that you can learn from it. Then it's time well spent, otherwise it is wasted and you will likely make the same mistake(s) again. Especially in a world that is moving so fast that during the lifetime of a single individual no single strategy will continue to work this is absolutely essential. The days when you could invent a gadget and live your life long on the proceeds are pretty much gone, you are most likely not going to see many people be handed out golden watches for 50 years dedicated service to 'the company' in the future. And that will only get worse, as product life cycles shorten and new inventions build on previous ones at an ever accelerating pace.

jacquesm 17y ago

> Adapting from incremental failures is critical to success. That's an absolute gem. Because that is exactly how it goes. My luck was to be involved in two companies that simply paid me a wage, they had a reasonably good idea at the time, they were good enough in their execution, one was 10 years ahead of its time (the idea has since been adopted and is now common practice), the other failed because of terrible planning and marketing. My gain was as much or more looking from the position of a salaried employee and to learn as much as if it was my own company that failed. If it hadn't been for those two projects I wouldn't have stood a chance in hell with my own business, even today I benefit from that experience. The most important thing you can do if your project tanks is to really sit down and mine it for what its worth with respect to the lessons that you can learn from it. Then it's time well spent, otherwise it is wasted and you will likely make the same mistake(s) again. Especially in a world that is moving so fast that during the lifetime of a single individual no single strategy will continue to work this is absolutely essential. The days when you could invent a gadget and live your life long on the proceeds are pretty much gone, you are most likely not going to see many people be handed out golden watches for 50 years dedicated service to 'the company' in the future. And that will only get worse, as product life cycles shorten and new inventions build on previous ones at an ever accelerating pace.