Five Ways to Fail was one of my favorite panels during the Web 2.0 conference in New York.
The panel emphasized how significant risk and failure are to not only one's development as an entrepreneur, but also to starting a business or endeavor.
Ben Huh listed 5 "fails" :
1. Failing to try new methods, techniques, and/or strategies and expecting results to change.
2. Assuming you know everything there is to know/failing to consult with other people. This is often evidenced by a failure to test the strategy or tool with people who would actually use it.
3. Failing to love those who love you; in other words focusing on those who dislike your idea/tool/strategy and spending energy on them instead of those who appreciate/value what you're doing. **I loved this one; since campus ministry is often so personal, it's tempting for me to spend my time on "haters."
4. Failing to add diversity; the panel affirmed that when they were on teams that all thought the same, their product often suffered. One panelist also noted that a diverse team often slows the development process down in a good way, forcing the team to use metrics to make decisions rather than opinions.
5. Failing to get back up after a failure; although this one was the most cliche, the reality of this was affirmed by every single panelist. I personally have grown in this the most the last couple years; and have been grateful that I didn't give up on pursuing some "side" projects that have now turned into my full-time job.
Photo courtesy of Huh's famous "Fail Blog"
