“In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success if you are willing to learn from it.” the late Paul Allen
In a year of profound loss on so many levels like this one, I always think we can learn so much for where our journey will take us next, and that’s what keeps us hopeful for the future. I have had that in mind a great deal lately, and we have talked bout it in our classes, when I read Dan Barry’s New York Times piece on Black Friday about President Trump and the way he has framed the phrase “loser” throughout his career.
Now this is not about the Administration or the ardent followers of the current President, it is about learning from loss, and how the best leaders, coaches, teachers, take the uncomfortable and the lowest times…the losses…and embrace those changes, draw the best out of it, and move on.
Take science for example. As one of my mentors, Dr. Harvey Schiller always points out, most of the biggest breakthroughs in science have come from failure…aluminum, the telephone, heck even Viagra, and most recently the continued breakthroughs around a vaccine for COVID-19…come from someone taking what they were trying to do and seeing opportunity, studying and listening, and then pivoting to what comes next. The losses became the gains because they were open to change.
I have been lucky enough to have been around so many shining lights in sports, media, entertainment and business, and I have always been taken by how many of the ones who have built such a solid culture, and have progressed, are open to talk about lessons learned from loss. Ironically it is something, learning from loss, that I have implored many to do a whole conference on, because I think when you get around the patting on the back, and the ego driven talk about limitless success, those who have been most successful have learned every day, and are driven by, overcoming loss much more than embracing the time spent at the top of the mountain. Yes there are examples of the self-possessed and the self-absorbed who only want to surround themselves with people who tell them how great they are, but one of the great lessons we see from sport especially are those who talk openly about failure and drive to overcome that loss into something beautiful.
“I’ve failed a company that sold powdered milk, I failed the jobs I’ve gotten fired from. And all those were learning experiences.” Mark Cuban
Now this is not to say that loss, or framing loss, is something we can always accept, give everyone a trophy and go home. Fear of failure is a great motivating force. It is too easy to just accept, as is sweeping loss under the rug and pretending it did not happen. It is tough to accept, especially amongst figures who are so public. Accepting and admitting are two different things. Denial leads to loss of credibility. However those who are best at leading, at driving positive change, are those who show empathy to loss, put themselves in the shoes of those who are losing, and figure out how to lead from behind because they have experienced those issues themselves.
As a culture it is not easy to accept. We want to all swim to the blue ocean, but I think, especially in the world we are in right now, the lessons that will drive us forward will be those where we are open to seeing the L’s we have, and using those to openly lift and drive change, and with that change comes a collective win, not just for oneself, but for those around us.
That’s leadership.
“Good behavior drives good results.”- Arthur Blank
One last example of learning from those losses? Take a listen to the recent Sports Business Radio podcast with Brian Berger and Falcons and Atlanta United (and good son of Brooklyn) owner Arthur Blank. Blank (who has a new book out as well) talks openly about the lessons he has learned through failure in business and sports, and delivers a clear message as to his path to success.
Happy Thanksgiving weekend.
