Author: Pamela Swift

Article contributed by Karen S Sieczka
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all. –Edward de Bono
As entrepreneurs, we have all failed at one time or another. An idea doesn’t pan out, a deal falls through, we get rejected by an important client, things don’t turn out as expected. We feel disappointed and sometimes we even feel hurt. Often, we want to throw in the towel. When this happens, we need to remember failure is an important part of the process of building success.
Failures can become turnarounds. Lee Iacocca brought the failing Chrysler company back from the brink of extinction in the 1980’s. Harry Truman failed miserably in many business ventures before becoming president of the United States. If these two had given up when things were tough, their names would be lost to history.
You probably know who James Dyson is. He is the guy who invented the extremely successful and popular bagless vacuum. It took him over 5,000 tries to get his design right but he used each failure to make improvements and move closer to his desired end result. We wouldn’t even recognize his name if he had thrown in the towel after the 10th failure or even the 4,999th failure!
Everyone knows who Colonel Sanders is. He concocted the secret herb and spice recipe that made the most famous fried chicken on the planet. He was rejected over 1,000 times before someone thought his recipe was finger licking good.
Look at the Wright brothers. How many times did they have to regroup before their airplane left the ground? Look at Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They didn’t wait for the perfect search algorithm. They started the company and then refined the process as they went along.
Thomas Edison was known for the incandescent light bulb and first recording of music on a wax cylinder. He and his colleagues tried thousands of experiments, some miserable failures, some partial failures, some successes, but each attempt, each process brought something to the table, and sparked an idea or brought them closer to a solution for another puzzle.
Read biographies of famous people. Even among the most successful, most have felt the sting of miserable failures at one time or another. How did they react and move toward success? Focus on how they learned from the mistakes and moved onward and upward. How can you apply these lessons to your own life, career, and circumstances? Ponder this: do you accept defeat when something goes wrong or do you regroup and try again? How persistent are you?
You have to accept failures are part of the success experience. Mistakes often become the next great innovation. Vulcanized rubber was a mistake. Microwave oven technology was created by accident. Penicillin was the result of a failed experiment.
To be successful, you must reconcile with the possibility of failure. Being successful involves taking risks, and the possibility of failure, ridicule, disapproval, and disappointment. Be courageous. Everyone makes some mistakes. You may never figure out all the outcomes before you plunge into a project. So what? Do it anyway! If it fails, learn from it and try again!
Karen S. Sieczka is a training consultant and founder of Growing Great Ideas.com. Her latest training program is Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing Creativity at Work. The program generates ideas, enthusiasm, and teamwork and can be customized to address particular organizational issues or challenges. This article was excerpted from the Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing Creativity at Work book, now available at LULU.com for download or print version.

This article is contributed by Lesley Mattos of Adesso Albums, Inc

Why would a woman making a six-figure salary in Silicon Valley choose to
leave her high profile position with Cisco to create a product that used no
21st Century technology?
Because almost thirty years of working with Silicon Valley’s top technology
companies can take a toll on a gal’s ability to stop and see, much less
smell the roses! During a trip to Italy, far away from friends and family
and immersed in a culture that lives in the moment, I realized what I’d lost
sight of.
And that’s where the idea for Adesso Albums was born. Six years later,
Adesso Albums is an international company with more than a million dollars
in annual revenue.
So how did I do it?
10 tips for Success in Business – Based on My Personal Experience:
1. Embrace change. It’s an inevitable part of running a business. Rather
than fighting it, wasting valuable time and eventually losing, you’re better
off anticipating, planning for, and embracing change. As a small business
owner you should be nimble and react quickly in a variety of ways. If you
look at change as an opportunity to grow, you will!
2. Use technology. Do more with less by automating routine processes with
web-based applications. These applications increase productivity and free
you, your staff and your resources to focus on more important tasks. And,
these applications can be accessed from anywhere
3. Keep your eye on the ball. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day
minutia of running a business. Constantly ask yourself if your daily
activities get you closer to your overall goals for the company. It will
keep you on track and stop you from spending time on the wrong things.
4. Know your differentiators. Compare your products and services to the
real, as well as the perceived competition. A competing concept can be even
more threatening than an actual product. Unless you have thought about what
differentiates your product or service from everything that’s out there,
your marketing efforts will fall short.
5. Lead by example. Peers and subordinates alike will learn from your
example. They “listen” with their eyes more than with their ears. Your
actions mean more than what you say to them. Make sure your processes and
actions both inside and outside the office are things you want emulated.
6. Give the illusion of participation. Everyone likes to feel like they are
part of the decision process, so let them! Then do what you think you ought
to do anyway. It’s not necessary, and often actually a hindrance in a small
business environment to employ the decision by a committee process.
7. Control timing. We often miss opportunities because we think we have to
respond immediately to stimuli such as phone calls or emails. Just because
the phone is ringing or an email comes in, it doesn’t mean you have to
react. Your day shouldn’t be a series of interruptions. The more you
control your distractions, the more effective you’ll be.
8. Know what you don’t know. It’s inconceivable that you could have an in
depth knowledge of every aspect of your business. Acknowledge your weak
areas and surround yourself with competent resources and trusted partners
and learn from them.
9. Stay organized. It is critical to update, edit, add and delete from your
list of to-do’s on a daily basis. Nothing feels better than crossing things
off. And, with a well-maintained list for you and your team, everyone will
stay on track and your chances for success are enhanced.
10. Plan for success. Formalize your processes as you go. Plan for and
build infrastructure ahead of your growth. So when your growth spurt comes,
you’re ready for it. And don’t forget to celebrate your successes along the
way. Stop and pat yourself and your team on the back as milestones are
achieved.
Following these ten tips not only helped me grow Adesso Albums to over a
million dollars in annual revenue last year, it also helped me reach tens of
thousands of people and help them live in the moment. Everyday we get
cards, letters, emails, pictures and even videos from our customers telling
us how Adesso Albums have touched their lives – and in so many ways –
both personally and from a business perspective.
From the couple who just got married and looked at their original instant
photo guest book every day of their honeymoon to the military family who
used an album to chronicle what happened while the dad was on tour for a
year, to our international distributors who each used the albums at their
weddings and have since quit their day jobs to sell Adesso Albums in their
part of the world – its’ all very humbling.
With a good idea, a little luck and my ten tips, you are well on your way to
success too!
About the Author:
Lesley Mattos is Owner of Adesso Albums, Inc. and creator of the original
instant photo guest book that combines retro, funky and fun Polaroid instant
photos with hand written sentiments from guests. Now you can create an
instant memento that is presented to honorees at events such as weddings,
birthdays, anniversary or retirement parties as they are leaving! Visit
http://www.adessoalbums.com