“If you continue to be defensive every time I give you constructive criticism, you’ll never learn anything.”
I was in my mid-20s when a mentor and former employer said those words to me, and I’ve never forgotten the lesson. When you make excuses, you lose the opportunity to learn from failure and improve yourself.
It’s more difficult than it sounds. Human nature is to look outside oneself for a source of blame. No one wants to be thought of as “a failure.”
And yet, if you’re willing to bow to the requirements of wisdom, your confidence can only rise as your quest for improvement moves forward.
Our magazine is all about education, and we figured there’s no better teacher than failure — thus, you hold in your hands, “The Failure Issue.” Inside, you’ll find stories from successful businesspeople who aren’t afraid to admit how they failed, and how that failure was transformative.
For example, check out columnist David Geller’s story of how he went from near-bankruptcy to profitable through a cash-flow crucible. And read about David Nygaard’s odyssey from multi-store owner to personal jeweler and city councilman through bankruptcy and divorce.
It all starts with a willingness to learn — and if you didn’t have that, you wouldn’t be reading INSTORE. So read on, and prepare to get the most from failure!
Trace Shelton
Editor-in-Chief, INSTORE
trace@smartworkmedia.com
Five Smart Tips You’ll Find in This Issue
- Have employees wear white cotton gloves when moving product around to keep skin oil off jewelry. (Manager’s To-Do List, p. 30)
- Hold “failure reviews” when anything goes wrong in your business. (The Big Story, p. 40)
- Keep a Failure Wall in a back room where you and your staff can share “growth lessons.” (The Big Story, p. 40)
- In job postings, describe your company, your reputation and your goals. (Ask INSTORE, p. 62)
- Reward your clients through a Brand Ambassador program that compensates them for sharing their enthusiasm for brands. (Cool Stores, p. 78