Not at the moment they happened — but when they heroically emerged from them. In practice, publishing your failures is a form of PR, a demonstration of your superpowers. And it's much harder to publish while you're still in the middle of the failure — knowing that clients might lose confidence, that the market is watching.
The second point: they say we learn from mistakes. But I'd put it differently — because it would be great if that's how it actually worked. It can strengthen us — but only if you actually draw a conclusion. And I rarely see people who, after a big or even a small failure, genuinely extract a lesson and change their behavior.
The worst thing about failure is admitting your own defeat.
The third and worst thing about failure is not the fall itself. I recently met someone who had $2 million in assets, and then representatives of our government took their business away. Yes, things like that still happen. And they broke. Not because the business was gone — but because they told themselves: 'I'm done. I can't.' And that story ended there.
What to Do When Failure Arrives
I want to be honest with you: failures will most likely happen. I would be thrilled if you never experienced a business failure or never got fired, but in real life that's unlikely. So if we understand that failures will probably come — the question is: what do we do when they arrive?
How many incredible stories exist of people who came out victorious from the deepest depths of hell. So climb out of your hell and push against your failures. Draw the conclusion. Get back up.
You're not starting from zero. You are now more experienced. You have experience, competencies, knowledge — and you know what NOT to do. That alone is worth more than any MBA.
