It's not all pink
We have all experienced failure, but we rarely want to talk about it. My bio, for example, can be read as a list of my successes. But there is another bio of Michel Bergeron, and in this one , it is not all rosy.
I could tell you that after five years of law school, I found myself on the first day of my first job at age 22 in a law firm… and after just one day I knew that a career in a large firm was not for me.
That said, the field of law leads to everything, provided that we get out of it...
Breaking out of the culture of perfectionism
Reflecting on failure helps us realize how much of a perfectionist culture we live in.
Failure is the price of trying. Failure to fail should be dentist database seen as failure to progress. Rather than associating failure with shame, failure should be associated with bravery and winners!
Convention has it that we should hide our failures, put them out of sight, as something shameful. But in reality, these failures are part of our lives. They are part of who we are and are sometimes the key to our greatest successes.
Failure is the price of trying. Failure to fail should be seen as failure to progress. Rather than associating failure with shame, failure should be associated with bravery and winners!
Not to risk is to stagnate. Not to risk is to go backwards.
Learning to Enjoy Failure in Business
At BDC, we work with more than 49,000 business owners across Canada.
This means that we work with a critical mass of people who take risks every day.
Many of these business owners are going to fail.
But, if you look at it another way, many of these business owners are successful.
These successful companies will provide the new products and services that will solve the problems we face today.
The bank for those who take risks
How do we know who these winners will be? We will never know 100%.
Prediction is difficult, but at BDC, we have decided to encourage risk-taking anyway. In fact, we finance nearly 2,000 start-ups each year. We are, in a way, the largest entrepreneurial risk-taking laboratory in Canada.
Take for example our Venture Capital division. As the venture capital theory shows in the graph below , this is a very risky business strategy.
So why are we taking the risk of investing in these companies? Because these two winning companies have the potential to change our lives and our children's futures, for the better.
It is encouraging to see a shift in perception taking shape in Canada regarding entrepreneurial culture. Entrepreneurship and risk-taking are increasingly being appreciated and encouraged in this country.
That said, we still have a long way to go to change our perception of those who take risks and those who fail.
3 concrete actions to change our conception of failure
1. Let’s talk about it and change our perception of failure
Failure needs to be demystified and destigmatized. The next time you meet someone who tells you about a failure, don’t judge them. Instead, ask them what they learned. Also, let’s make sure to share the lessons from our failures.
2. Let's stop being afraid of failure
Risk-taking and change are the keys to success in this era of great technological revolutions. The fear of the status quo must be stronger than the fear of failure.
So let's take risks, but let's do it smart.
3. Let's take action
As leaders, as business owners or as team leaders, it is important to create a space where risk-taking is encouraged and where mistakes are seen as a learning opportunity.
As a society, we must do the same.
