Failure and Success

At the back of Forbes Magazine, they used to have a page of quotes. It became quite well known, and the book compiling them all (Forbes Quotations on the Business of Life) sold quite well.

Malcom Forbes' quote always lead off: With all thy getting, get understanding.

Here's a quote that I think has similar reach and value: The opposite of avoiding failure is not the same thing as seeking success. Put differently, avoiding risk doesn't guarantee returns.

When you're young, you can probably get by by just avoiding failure. I surely felt that way as a young officer/professional. I was scared enough of failing I figured just avoiding it was enough. And I guess it was (but Mike reminded me recently that at that time I was "brash". Go figure.)

But look - if you get too good at avoiding failure, it becomes its own goal, a deadly chimera.

Learning how to avoid failure is a good skill. But it's not what powers the world. Seeking success is the engine of results. You can't be a force for good by avoiding failure.

Avoiding failure is the EASY path. Often, bosses and leaders will tell you what failure is. But if you're working on something new, or important, failure might be easy to describe, but success is hard to be clear about.

Learn the difference early.

Don't be so afraid of failure that you learn it so well that you become afraid of seeking success.

Meet-Ups

Do you have questions for your fellow Manager Tools managers? Are you curious how others are implementing the Trinity or their DiSC knowledge? Have you been to a Manager Tools Conference and want to continue a conversation with other local participants?

Consider joining or scheduling a Manager Tools Meet-Up in your area. There are several active Manager Tools communities worldwide who meet regularly. You can use the Meet-Up section of the Forums to arrange your meeting. You can find it here.

Please Forward This Newsletter

Those of you who have individual licenses know that use of that content is only for that particular member. This newsletter is not licensed content, and we'd love for you to forward it to anyone who would find it interesting and useful. You just need to click the link at the bottom of the page.

If someone forwarded it to you, and you'd like your own copy in future, become a Manager Tools member here. It's free!

no. 75 | 24 April 2012

People Say...

"I am surprised how a conference can be organized around subject matter that has been covered on podcasts that I've listened to several times and still have such deep, additional value." -Michael

Feedback

We'd love to hear your thoughts on our newsletter. Please send feedback to show@manager-tools.com. Thank you!

Manager Tools

Every Manager Effective

Career Tools

Every Professional Productive

Manager Tools | 5765-F Burke Centre Parkway | Suite #152 | Burke | VA | 22015

� Manager Tools, LLC. All rights reserved.