Leveraging Failure

Recently I was co-anchoring a workshop for over 100 MBA and Engineering Graduates at Tirupathi. In working with them I realized each of them had tremendous leadership potential and boundless energy.

One of the exercises we challenged them with was to create value for all 100 of them with just Rs.1,000/- as start-up resource__and in just 50 minutes! We divided them into five teams and let them go for it. Incredibly, they just did it. Each of the teams came up with original, practical, value creation ideas that would have put established entrepreneurs and innovators to shame. And no, these young men and women, were not from the IIMs and IITs. They were from the second and third-ranked graduate schools from across the country.

On the drive back to Chennai, I couldn’t stop wondering how many of these 100 folks will actually emerge as successful organisational and/or community leaders? Actually, all of them can and must. But, in reality, only a handful will.

Why will the majority of them not make the grade when they actually have the potential to be extra-ordinary? The answer, gleaned from over 25 years of experience in dealing with people, is simple. Most will fall into a comfort zone trap, choosing to be unambitious and mediocre. They may have the zest in the early part of their careers but failures__or inability to manage situations__with difficult projects, with tough bosses, with hostile organisational environments and indifferent peer groups__will force them to get off the road to extra-ordinarydom. Some of them may even get depressed with the ‘system’ and shrink into a shell.

Let’s be sure. Failure, which is nothing but a ‘current’ inability to manage and overcome a challenge or situation, can and must be managed. Notice the word ‘current’ there? It is, therefore, not a ‘permanent’ disability. In fact, failure, because it is always ‘temporary’, must be leveraged.

One of the principal reasons why young professionals are unable to understand this simple truth is because of the way our education system works and conditions us. In academia, there is a curriculum, there is (theoretically!) coaching and there is an examination of our learnings. Life, on the other hand, is a hard teacher that gives the test first and the lesson later. In academia you can cry foul if your question paper is set out of portion or syllabi. You can even demand a re-examination. But in life, several times, your challenges are set both out of portion or even out of proportion. Instead of sulking at the challenges that may confront you, if you looked at the scope for learning that each challenge offers, you will win even if you fail.

Consider a real life situation that you recently faced. For example, you have a ‘Hari Sadu’ kind of boss or a tyrant of a professor or a bunch of peers who are not serious about the project you have been entrusted. If you managed to encounter and overcome this situation, after initially being foxed and imagining that you can’t handle it, you will have discovered a latent potential in you. Eureka! And if you failed, you will have learnt what not to do with/in such situations. Wisdom! In reality, therefore, either way, you have won.

This is the beauty and essence of life. Each challenge has been placed in front of you to help you overcome your inhibitions and attempt a solution. And for you to learn from the experience, either good or bad.

Remember, all of us fell off our bicycles when we first rode them and skinned our knees and elbows. But we learnt from that experience and were soon able to balance ourselves. That’s how you deal with failure in any context.

Learnings:

1. Embrace each challenge that comes your way.

2. When you succeed, to be sure, you will feel exalted. When you fail, you will grow wiser.

3.And it is wisdom__from experience__ that is your ultimate wealth. It cannot be bought or borrowed. It can only be gained from leveraging failure.