You’ve experienced failure. How can you use it to your advantage?
Failure is inevitable in any field, but especially in mobile development, where you have to deal with constant changes, bugs, and user feedback. However, failure is not the end of the road, but an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve. In this article, you will discover how to use failure to your advantage and turn it into a positive force for your mobile projects.
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Gary LeeCEO @ B2M Solutions | Board Member | Executive Director | Enterprise Mobile Software | C-Level Exec in 6 Global Startups2 Replies
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Felicia ZornVice President, Customer Success
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Ariel Richard MartinezInformation technology is at the core of how you do your business and how your business model itself evolves - Satya…
The first step to deal with failure is to acknowledge how you feel about it. Denying or suppressing your emotions will only make them worse and affect your performance. Instead, allow yourself to express your frustration, anger, or disappointment in a healthy way. For example, you can vent to a trusted friend, write in a journal, or do some physical activity. By acknowledging your emotions, you will release some of the tension and stress that failure can cause.
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Someone said when failure hits, write down and say out loud [failure] is the best thing that could've happened to me.". Why? Because it reframes the situation and starts your mind thinking about the positive outcomes that can and will come from this. Except for rare, dumb luck, no one ever accomplishes anything - from learning to ride a bike to building a healthy relationship to building a company - without failing along the way. Failures are not the end unless we decide they are. Shifting the mindset and emotions toward the positives that can and will come out of these set backs is a critical part of the journey to success. It's not easy. But with practice, it can be done.
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Failure can be a powerful teacher, providing valuable lessons for growth and improvement. By embracing failure, one can learn from mistakes, gain resilience, and develop a deeper understanding of oneself and one's capabilities. It serves as a stepping stone toward success, offering insights that can be applied to future endeavors. Embracing failure as a natural part of the learning process allows individuals to iterate, innovate, and ultimately achieve their goals with greater wisdom and determination.
The next step is to analyze what went wrong and why. Failure is a feedback mechanism that tells you what you need to change or improve. To learn from your mistakes, you need to identify the root causes and the consequences of your failure. For example, you can ask yourself questions like: What was the goal of the project? What were the expectations and requirements? What were the challenges and obstacles? What were the actions and decisions that led to the failure? What were the outcomes and impacts of the failure?
The third step is to take responsibility and action for your failure. Blaming others or external factors will not help you move forward or grow. Instead, you need to own your failure and show that you are willing to correct it and prevent it from happening again. For example, you can apologize to your clients or users, offer solutions or alternatives, fix the bugs or errors, update the features or designs, or seek help or guidance from experts or mentors.
The fourth step is to seek feedback and support from others who can help you improve and succeed. Failure can make you feel isolated or discouraged, but you are not alone. There are many people who have gone through similar experiences and can offer you valuable insights, advice, or encouragement. For example, you can reach out to your colleagues, peers, or managers, join online communities or forums, attend workshops or webinars, or read books or blogs.
The fifth step is to celebrate your progress and achievements, no matter how small or big they are. Failure can make you focus on the negative aspects of your work and overlook the positive ones. However, you need to recognize and appreciate your efforts, skills, and results that show that you are learning and growing. For example, you can reward yourself with something you enjoy, share your success stories with others, or set new goals or challenges.
The sixth and final step is to embrace failure as a learning opportunity and not as a personal flaw or a sign of weakness. Failure is a natural and inevitable part of any creative process and a source of innovation and improvement. By adopting a growth mindset, you will see failure as a way to expand your knowledge, skills, and potential, and not as a limit or a threat. For example, you can view failure as a feedback, not as a judgment, as a challenge, not as a problem, and as a motivation, not as a deterrent.
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Remember, the road to success is rarely smooth. Mistakes highlight areas where we can strengthen our abilities. A failed project might reveal a knowledge gap or a need for skill development. By identifying these weaknesses, we can learn and improve. Overcoming challenges builds resilience and hones our problem-solving skills. Troubleshooting failures equips us with better strategies for future situations. Failures can push us beyond our comfort zones, sparking creative solutions and groundbreaking innovations. By reframing failure as a chance to learn and grow, we can cultivate a more positive and productive work environment. This allows everyone to feel comfortable taking calculated risks and striving for improvement.
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One of the best examples of failure is now on our TV screens every night, where professionals who make $ millions per year fail right in front of us daily. Baseball. Where the best-performing batter "fails" 60% of the time. A major league hitter doing well will manage to get a hit 3 out of every 10 at bats. Hitting 4 out of every 10 will place you at the top of all athletes. Meaning you're "failing" 60% of the time to hit And therein lies the balance for all of us. What are we really measuring for "failure" versus mistakes easily corrected? Are we celebrating the wins - the hits - and downplaying all the times at bat we went down swinging (and learned more about the pitcher for the next time)?
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