Finding Success in Failure

If you follow the logic of Mark, a business colleague and friend of mine, the unfavorable connotation many business owners attribute to being fired by their customers can be often overrated.

Mark owns several national plumbing franchise locations, but early in his career, he seemed to practice getting fired by his customers. When asked about this in an interview once, he responded, “That’s what I do. I’m very good at it. I’ve made a career of it.” He claims he never wanted to be an entrepreneur; he just kept getting fired.

As with many entrepreneurs, Mark has quit, gotten fired, or failed his way into growing one of the largest franchises in the network. Not bad for a guy who started parking cars at a football stadium for $2 an hour when he was 13 years old.

Mark’s penchant for getting fired made me wonder how often business owners inadvertently restrict their company’s growth because they fear failing at the job they’ve created and have been paying themselves to perform! While none will say it aloud, our behaviors often give this away.

Behavior No. 1: Getting too comfortable

We get comfortable doing what we’ve always done. Many of us have experienced having a long-term employee who was perfect for their job when hired, but as time passed and the company grew, they seemed to stagnate.

What about business owners? Many owners’ professional growth seems to stagnate as their company grows.

I’ve written about a term I call “leadership debt.” This is when a business owner or leadership team members stop developing their leadership or business skills. When we stop learning as business professionals, our brains shift into neutral, and we end up without new ideas.

Behavior No. 2: Fear of change

Sometimes, our fear of being fired shows itself as a fear of change. Little doubt arises that getting fired brings the pretty jarring realization that your world has just changed—and usually not just a little. To avoid being fired, we sometimes go to great lengths to do just enough to prevent it but not enough to drive our business or career forward.

I asked Mark to share the secrets to his success. His response was curious: “I see my failures more than my successes. The failures were all critical.” Any failure can be challenging. It can impact us financially and physically and occasionally leave a mark on our egos if we let it.

Failures can also be sources of inspiration and excellent learning experiences. Our successes reinforce the one thing we did that led to that success. Our failures open our world to many new possibilities.

When we have been conditioned throughout our lives to succeed in whatever endeavor we undertake, it’s only natural that we do our best to avoid failing. But when we let our fear of failing stand in the way of doing our best, then by default, we are handicapping ourselves.

While I would not advise anyone to try to get themselves fired intentionally, my friend Mark might suggest they not worry too much about it.