September 12th, 2023 - I live on a big round ball…

I live on a big round ball…

I never do dream I may fall…

When I first started studying failure, I struggled a bit to think of a time when I failed... not because I'm arrogant and definitely not because I'm perfect...partially because I think my ADHD brain messes with my memories and partially because I truly do view failure as a regular, expected part of life.

I have applied for promotions and not received them, I started a company in 2021 & only secured one client so I went back to speech therapy, I applied for DisruptHR Denver in Spring 2023 and didn't get accepted, I got a crochet kit and returned it, of course this list could get really long.

In the wake of all of these failures - I ended up trying again... notice the plural in promotions — I applied for the same manager role every time it came up for two straight years (it came up a lot, and yes that was its own issue), I've started another company, I applied again to Disrupt... I haven't yet tried crochet again but I’m just waiting to find the right kit (I’m considering Woobles, has anyone tried those?)

When it comes to business, failure is crucial to success. Bit of a buzzy phrase, especially in the world of start-ups, but do you actually believe it? I really like the line from Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" -- the secret to life though, is to fall seven times, and to get up eight times -- (which is apparently based on a Japanese proverb). I think Simon Sinek would appreciate it too, he talks about using the word fall instead of failure - but I disagree. I think we should normalize using the word failure, and talk about it openly, especially with work teams. And I do just that in this workshop... I'd be so happy to bring it to your team and start a little organizational transformation 'round your way...

Email title and teaser this week is a memorial to the legend, Jimmy Buffett. If you follow my Instagram, you know what a huge piece of my childhood and early adult years he was.