Sometimes
it feels like life is a series of complicated situations and failures that we must
negotiate. In-between the icky bits we savour those beautiful sweet
moments that keep us fueled I am lucky enough to connect on an
almost daily basis with inspiring and interesting individuals who
fill me up and remind me of what is important in life.
I write one page of masterpiece to ninety one pages of shit – I try to put the shit in the wastebasket. -Ernest Hemingway
Over
the past few weeks I met some such individuals who own and manage
some of the most innovative manufacturing companies in Tasmania. Situated on the North West Coast of Tasmania in Devonport, Penguin,
Burnie and the surrounding area, many of them produce and sell to and
for local, interstate and international markets. It was fascinating
listening to their stories about tenacity, hard work, ideas and
people. By the end of the two days there were some common themes
running through the conversations. Many of these industrious and
clever individuals left school in year 9 or 10 to pursue their dream
that often revolved around making, growing or building something. But
there is nothing modest about the operations of these producers and
manufacturers. In fact, most have businesses with international reach
and plans for major growth and redevelopment. Needless to say that
the experience of entering their world was fascinating and inspiring.
Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations. - Steve Jobs (1955 – )
The
lessons to be learnt from these clever people are many, but the
recurring and reassuring themes included:
- surround yourself with positive people
- 'you gottawannadoit' – a catch cry from successful entrepreneur Dale Elphinstone
- you have to keep modifying and improving your product, responding to the market and updating to address competitors.
- Take the word 'can't' out of your vocabulary
- Be focused on what you want to do and be passionate and finally the biggie...
- don't be afraid to fail
WHAT?
Failure.
Innovative
and idealistic thinkers may tell us that failure is vital for our
growth and success, and a normal part of life it really is not
something embraced in day to day life. Even before we bring our first
school reports home in Grade 1 we have learnt the reward of success
and the disappointment that surrounds failure. Let's face it, not
only are we generally pretty bad at failing, but what is worse is our
response to failure. We denigrate others, ourselves, we sulk,
question everything and often go into complete avoidance.
Sport
is not something I usually watch. In fact the TV was muted when I
noticed the young footballer being interviewed. It was his demeanour
that first drew my attention. He was being asked about the recent
game and the substantial loss his team had suffered. While he was
obviously disappointed it was his response that got me thinking more
about how we deal with and respond to failure.
'Someone
has to lose', he said when asked about the teams performance. He went
on to talk about what they could improve on and take from the loss;
what do they do next. It got me thinking about sporting teams and how
they approach failure. There were qualities in the footballer that I
had seen in the North West entrepreneurs. They reflect on their
performance, respond, make some changes, pull up there socks and get
on with the next idea or task.
Business
owners risk everything by investing their own money into ideas and
projects. While they may do their environmental scans and risk
analysis, ultimately they must be prepared to respond to failure;
through economic downturn, change in trends, competition etc. The
ability to ride this failure, to get up and have another go, is
incredibly inspiring. It is a quality that is needed in the non
profit sector, including the arts. There is a confidence amongst
these hard working passionate people that is GOLD and I believe we
can learn a great deal from them.
I came
away from the North West wondering how we could learn from
entrepreneurs and successful business people-especially those who
fail. How do we get them in front of producers, managers and arts
companies who are looking to get off the reliance on government
funding? How do we embrace difference in how we all communicate; ask
the 'stupid' questions? And how do we invest in our ideas, take a
risk and prepare ourselves when failure hits.
Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one’s mistakes. -Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891
