Tag: Failure

Failure as prereq

Maybe it’s just me. But people I associate with don’t seem to do well these days.

Sectors once thrived are now wiped out: telecom, housing and to some extent, publishing.

HR at HP has been busy.

We learn from failure.

By turning it into seed of success.

Success and failure leave a different taste in the mouth: sweet and sour.

To live a full life, one needs to learn how to swallow both.

Failure often accompanies loneliness. You wouldn’t go out and celebrate with others.

You lick your own wound in the dark and in isolation.

You won’t find many Yes men around to toast with.

It’s meeting-Jesus time.

Penance.

Retrenching. Redemption.

Taking inventory: what assets  vs what liabilities?

Learn to stage a return. Review the script.

Check the audition board.

They always need fresh meat for the rituals (sacrificial lamb).

What came before will come around again.

No one is born a loser.

Unless we allow the statement to stay true.

Failure is as common as a bruised knee.

Keep getting back up and ride. The balance is found in continuing motion, in trying.

Failure teaches us more than success, albeit bitter lessons in penance.

Hopefully people I know who are in a rut , know how to soon put it behind and try again, instead of fail to try.

Taking chances

Peter’s Principle states that line managers are often promoted “beyond their level of competency”.

In other words, a technical guy, best at his job, ends up being the boss who has to crawl his way through business dilemma and personnel issues.

In life, however, some problems cannot be solved at the same level where they had first occurred. Bully problems at school, for instance, need intervention. Or as recently as this morning, Sandusky‘s sin exposed and dealt with in public.

It’s a call to take chances, to take risks if we were to make any progress.

This Recession has drawn out both the best and the worst in us.

Some of us rose to the occasion. Diversify ourselves. Or take the high road (going after our passion or non-profit work).

Others just checked out. Drifted.

I have met a bunch of expats who kept staying in-country indefinitely.

Extended vacation.

Or permanent student.

Profitable venues i.e. financial and housing sectors are hitting bottom.

We are left with the “sure things”: food, clothing and shelter (renting).

Even families once so close now seem so far. Recession pull them apart, that was.

My friend reminded me how long it took Japan to get through its V-shaped recovery. 18 years.

Ouch! I will be dead by then.

Still there are things that need risks: crossing the street, eating one more bite of that greasy foods or banking on the elusive thing called love.

Friends went into fields which are quite different from their academic and career backgrounds. That’s risk-taking.

I spotted excitement and adrenaline.

For VC‘s, they need to hit 20% of the time, to cover the other 80% failures.

Still it’s worth it.

Still taking that chance.

Still go for it. Or else it wouldn’t be solving the problem at a higher level.

Because after all, many of those problems cannot be solved if left where it started.

But beware of over-promotion (beyond one’s level of competency). Peter’s Principle.