Fun with Failure Vanessa Carter Luz Gomez

Failure is Sometimes Scary

But it’s an Opportunity… Failure = Learning

What Can We Learn? Microbusiness Development Corporation, Denver (closed in 2007): Pursued rapid and multifaceted growth.

What Can We Learn? A move into a new geography: Take risks but don’t get caught up in only the growth potential. Heed your gut; make sure you focus on the stuff that’s not as “fun”.

It Wasn’t Pretty Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnel (SEG): No controls over use of funds & reimbursements Mail hadn’t been checked for months No responses to client inquiries, partners, donors Tracking software not maintained Board unaware until too late No consistent management of portfolio

What Can We Learn? Leadership transition: no one point of failure Focus on what might seem less exciting Accountability of leaders and board: building the right advisory board and establishing communication Proper grounding and training for volunteers = stronger buy-in and culture of service Creating a culture of accountability

What’s a Culture of Accountability? “…create a shared understanding, or framing, around the types of failures that employees can expect to happen at work; and reward the messenger who brings up bad news.” From: When We Learn from Failure (and When we Don’t)

Discussion What red flags have you seen in your work? What’s making you nervous?

Some Final Thoughts… “We have small, medium, and big failures all the time. The question is: How do you handle failure when it happens? How do you handle it with your customers, your team, your shareholders? A real failure is when you make a mistake and don’t do the right thing, fix it as quickly as you can, own it, and learn from it.” —Beth Cross, CEO of Ariat International Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. -Albert Einstein