Why Failure Breeds Success: Thoughts on Digital Media
Digital media is only just reaching it’s maturity. The medium is so young and mainstream use of web technologies is still quite awkward. To believe that everything we build and design is going to be perfect the first time we try is unrealistic. It’s good to be critical and continue raising the bar of what is possible, but failure is still unavoidable. It’s much healthier to embrace the notion of failure as opportunities to learn. We learn more from loss than gain.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about failure. Both in my personal life and professional sphere the idea of what constitutes failure has become an underlining theme. In meetings when new ideas have been proposed they've been continually rejected by those who fear failure.
Being a risk taker means not worrying about failure because the risks are calculated and understood. If the exact goal is not succeeded an initiative is not necessarily a failure. Something is always learned and therefore there is always value. Digital media is founded on test and measure - not waiting for an answer to fall into your lap. In order to be in this business you must have a thick skin and be able to rebound quickly.
I read recently in a parenting book that you should never offer an option to a child that you are not prepared to allow them to fulfil. Being passive aggressive involves believing that other people can infer a meaning from subtle to non-literal cues. So often we believe that other people are psychics and able to pick up our non-actions as well as our actions. Or we try to control others and the world around us because we fear failure. The more we try to control digital media the less we grow. And being passive aggressive just wastes time. You might as well just stick your head and in the sand and wait for everyone to understand digital media as well as they understand traditional media. (I'll tap your shoulder is about 5-10 years.)
Some say that it takes 20 years to be able to make accurate inferences about individuals we know intimately. And if we apply that concept to ourselves or to our work it is reasonable to think that we’re destined to fail more than we succeed. That was the case for me, it took me about 20 years to really know myself and ten years later I’m still fine tuning my relationship with myself. Communication is a fine art, and so to is predicting user behaviour online. It takes time and a lot of trial and error.
My Dad used to call it “pulling a Jessica” - when I'd spontaneously try something and fail. I failed a lot as a kid and upon failing I gave up. Not to suggest my Dad was putting me down. He is a very wise man who helped me understand that what makes me different are my greatest assets. The trick is to apply what is different to benefit others and not become a reclusive introvert. If I think about my differences as hindrances I'd never try new things because I'd fear failure. I believe it's why I gravitated to digital media. Trying things and failing is a part of my personality. But as I've grown up I've realised that failing is no reason to give up - it's only the beginning.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about failure. Both in my personal life and professional sphere the idea of what constitutes failure has become an underlining theme. In meetings when new ideas have been proposed they've been continually rejected by those who fear failure.
"X company already tried that and it failed (a statement with no insight into the poor execution or variables)."
"We can't create a concise business case that we're guaranteed uptake so it's safer to keep doing what we're doing (even though no money is coming from what we're currently doing)."
"We thought of doing X years ago, but we didn't have X or Y or Z and now we've moved on. It's too late."
"X worked for Y, but that could never work for us because we're in a different category."
Being a risk taker means not worrying about failure because the risks are calculated and understood. If the exact goal is not succeeded an initiative is not necessarily a failure. Something is always learned and therefore there is always value. Digital media is founded on test and measure - not waiting for an answer to fall into your lap. In order to be in this business you must have a thick skin and be able to rebound quickly.
I read recently in a parenting book that you should never offer an option to a child that you are not prepared to allow them to fulfil. Being passive aggressive involves believing that other people can infer a meaning from subtle to non-literal cues. So often we believe that other people are psychics and able to pick up our non-actions as well as our actions. Or we try to control others and the world around us because we fear failure. The more we try to control digital media the less we grow. And being passive aggressive just wastes time. You might as well just stick your head and in the sand and wait for everyone to understand digital media as well as they understand traditional media. (I'll tap your shoulder is about 5-10 years.)
Some say that it takes 20 years to be able to make accurate inferences about individuals we know intimately. And if we apply that concept to ourselves or to our work it is reasonable to think that we’re destined to fail more than we succeed. That was the case for me, it took me about 20 years to really know myself and ten years later I’m still fine tuning my relationship with myself. Communication is a fine art, and so to is predicting user behaviour online. It takes time and a lot of trial and error.
My Dad used to call it “pulling a Jessica” - when I'd spontaneously try something and fail. I failed a lot as a kid and upon failing I gave up. Not to suggest my Dad was putting me down. He is a very wise man who helped me understand that what makes me different are my greatest assets. The trick is to apply what is different to benefit others and not become a reclusive introvert. If I think about my differences as hindrances I'd never try new things because I'd fear failure. I believe it's why I gravitated to digital media. Trying things and failing is a part of my personality. But as I've grown up I've realised that failing is no reason to give up - it's only the beginning.
“Life exists as a million deaths and a million rebirths.” - Toni Childs
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