Failure Files

Description

Experts in a range of business and social fields discuss different aspects of the concept of failure and how it relates to a variety of settings in today's society - including business, education, social history, psychology and the public services.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Entrepreneurship

Informations

• Publié par: Triarchy Press
• Date de parution: 29 mars 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781909470149
• Langue: English

Extrait

Published in this edition in 2011 by: Triarchy Press Axminster United Kingdom
[phone] [e-mail] www.triarchypress.net
This Edition Triarchy Press 2011.
Each individual chapter author asserts his or her moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of their chapter.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover design by Heather Fallows - www.whitespacegallery.org.uk
Print ISBN: 978-1-908009-30-2 Epub: 978-1-909470-14-9
About Triarchy Press
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CONTENTS
Editor s Preface: The Glory of Failure
David Hillson
Part 1
Chapter 1: Contexts for Failure
Mitch Sava & Jonathan Jewell
Chapter 2: Concepts of Failure
David Hillson
Part 2
Chapter 3: Personal Failure from a Psychological Perspective
Marilyn Fryer
Chapter 4: Societal Failure: Is There Such a Thing?
Cliff Leach
Chapter 5: Failure in Education: Knowing What You Don t Know
Susan Greenberg
Chapter 6: Failure in Individuals and Society
Robert Morrall & Kirsty Patterson
Chapter 7: Life Events Failure
Christopher Knell
Chapter 8: Failure in Projects, Programmes & Corporate Strategy
Stephen Charters
Chapter 9: Businesses May Fail; Do Entrepreneurs?
Iain Scott
Chapter 10: Failures in Government ~ We Don t Talk About Failure
Esmee Wilcox
Part 3
Chapter 11: Twenty-First Century Perspectives on Failure
Roxanne Persaud
References and Further Reading
Contributor Biographies
Index
L IST OF F IGURES
CHAPTER 2
Figure 2-1 The Comfort Success Zone
Figure 2-2 The Innovation Success Zone
Figure 2-3 Taijitu symbol of yin yang
Figure 2-4 The Success-Failure Ecocycle
Figure 2-5 The expanded Success-Failure Ecocycle
CHAPTER 3
Figure 3-1 Strategies for coping with failure
CHAPTER 5
Figure 5-1 Knowledge and Awareness
Figure 5-2 Kolb s learning cycle
CHAPTER 7
Figure 7-1 Dimensionality of life events failure impact
Figure 7-2 Changing comfort zones
CHAPTER 8
Figure 8-1 Levels of hierarchy
CHAPTER 11
Figure 11-1 Expanded Taijitu symbol showing light and dark failure characteristics
EDITOR S PREFACE: THE GLORY OF FAILURE
David Hillson
Failure. We ve all done it. Some fail gradually, others fail grudgingly and occasionally people fail graciously. But is it really possible to fail gloriously?
The term Glorious Failure has a certain ring to it, and perhaps that s what has attracted people to the RSA Glory of Failure project since it was first suggested by Mitch Sava in April 2008 (and it wasn t an April Fool hoax - I checked). Since then a small but committed group has explored the topic from a wide range of angles, looking for ways to understand what it might mean to fail gloriously. The link with the RSA ensured that our endeavours included societal and transformational dimensions, but the project soon acquired a life of its own.
Following a successful First Failure Colloquium in September 2009, it was clear that we were on to something. Speakers at that event shared their ideas and insights on failure in a variety of settings, and those present realised they were hearing a message that was quite unique and special. From that realisation The Failure Files was born.
This book does not pretend to be exhaustive or comprehensive on the subject of failure. Instead it reports our work-in-progress, presenting an array of essays on how failure might be encountered in different ways. Part One sets the scene, with an opening chapter from Mitch Sava and Jonathan Jewell who launched the Glory of Failure project. They describe the thinking and vision behind the project, explaining why failure is an important topic and how understanding failure can transform individuals, organisations and society. A second chapter completes Part One by offering a structured framework for failure, relating it to success, suggesting some defining characteristics and proposing a typology of failure.
The main body of The Failure Files is in Part Two, where experts and practitioners from various professions and industries discuss failure in their area of expertise, presenting illustrative case studies and examples, and highlighting the specific nature of failure in their setting. This is where the book s subtitle is relevant: Perspectives on Failure. Each chapter in Part Two offers a unique view of failure from a specific angle, yet together they provide a rich description of the landscape. My goal as editor was to preserve each author s voice, merely performing a light edit rather than imposing a common house style . As a result the Part Two chapters are all different, approaching the topic in the way that each author felt was appropriate. I m grateful to authors for offering their insights freely, and for trusting their material to my editorial scrutiny.
Of course Part Two could have been a great deal longer, including perspectives on many other different types of failure, or multiple perspectives on each failure domain. As editor I am aware of what didn t make it into this book, but I remain confident that the material here offers the reader much food for thought and action. The disparate strands of our individual authors are, however, synthesised as the book closes in Part Three, with a final chapter that compares the insights in Part Two with the vision in Part One, identifying the next steps and remaining work for the Glory of Failure project. We hope to leave readers with a clear impression of the direction and momentum of activity, as well as an indication of how those who are interested might get involved. The Failure Files close with a call to arms, encouraging each one of us to engage positively with failure wherever it is encountered and to seek transformational responses at every level.
This reminds me of a well-known motivational poster which tells us that We can t make SUCCESS without U. In the same vein, I have also realised that Making FAILURE requires both U and I. I hope that you will find much to challenge and inspire you in The Failure Files , and that all your future failures will be glorious.
David Hillson
PART 1
CHAPTER 1: CONTEXTS FOR FAILURE
Mitch Sava & Jonathan Jewell
UK society has long been seen to be characterised by a pervasive fear of failure . But to shield ourselves from failure is to deny ourselves the fruits of our creative and innovative potential. It also makes life boring.
WHY FAILURE?
We like and need innovation
Change is part of life. Sometimes we eagerly anticipate change; perhaps more often we look upon it with hesitation. But there is no way to avoid change; it is not only a constant aspect in our world, but a crucial one.
In many areas of our life, the status quo is unsustainable. We face challenges small and large across many fronts: economic, business, social, environmental, etc. For many of these, the simple, low-risk tweaks of which we are so fond are simply not up to the task. Solving the big challenges will require bold thinking and new ideas. Or, using another word that is popular at the moment: innovation.
Innovation and failure go hand-in-hand
Innovation, however, cannot exist without the risk of failure. When we try new things, sometimes they just don t work. Failure is a natural by-product of innovation. If we are to succeed in developing and exploiting new ideas, we must be prepared - emotionally, financially, socially - to encounter the inevitable failures that will line our path. In striving for greater achievement, a healthy attitude towards failure and uncertainty is considered vital to an individual s and an organisation s capacity to create and to innovate.
It is no surprise then that our most successful individuals and organisations are those that are the most tolerant of failure. One apparent constant amongst such people and enterprises is that when asked to identify their most significant failure in life, they do not hesitate to answer. All have encountered some misstep or obstacle along their path that had less than the desired outcome. However, they will also quickly note that it was because of such failures, rather than despite them, that they were able to achieve greatness. Rather than being destroyed by adversity and setbacks, they learned from them. To borrow a phrase from management guru Warren Bennis, these were crucible moments in which their character was transformed, emerging stronger and more resilient than before. Failure teaches us how to do things better, how to adapt to change and the unexpected, and ultimately entices us to reach further.
Failure is in the eye of the beholder
For our highest achievers and for those that actively court new ideas and explore new ventures, setbacks are viewed as a natural part of the process - so natural and anticipated that they are unlikely to be seen as failures . The bar for what defines failure is set much higher.
Failure is considered to be an essential part of building a successful business, or making that breakthrough discovery. In the United States, many venture capitalists actively seek demonstrations of past failure in their prospective entrepreneurs as evidence of personal sacrifice and valuable life learning. This School of Hard Knocks is perceived to be as valuable as a Har