FAIL BETTER

摘要

The sanest piece of advice I have ever taken came from an absurdist. The line is simple: "Ever tried, ever failed. No matter. Fail. Fail again. Fail better." Simple and catchy? Sure. But with it, Samuel Beckett gave us all the ingredients we need to grow and improve-to face the million failures necessary to succeed. It remains one of the most instructive pieces of wisdom I have ever encountered. We have all seen the story play out when businesses fail to listen to it. Whether it's Sony losing the digital music market to Apple, or Kodak losing its lead in the rise of digital photography, when businesses rest too heavily on success, when they avoid the risks of the unknown to bank on the temporary of wins of the known, then deep, painful falls are imminent. It doesn't matter how successful they are, it doesn't matter how deep their pockets: When companies stop failing, their success will crumble.