Can failure also be a success?

On a long drive back to Pittsburgh with some friends, we began discussing the overarching issues of failure and success. More specifically we talked about at what point should one stop being idealistic about something such as a job or a start up company. When should a person actually admit failure and move on?

Being of the more realistic (and thus perhaps less hopeful) mindset, I quickly argued with my friends that people should be honest with themselves and understand that when something they are attempting to do is failing they should know it is better and safer to throw in the towel and quit. To get out before getting any deeper or spending any more money. However, a few of my fellow car riders went the opposite direction claiming that without failing or trying to push through failure new innovations would not be discovered, great leaps forward would never happen.

Our car debate ended with no firm conclusion; however, I continued thinking about it and upon returning home hopped on Google to search for some answers. Especially in light of this class and our attempts to start successful social ventures, I wanted to see what other people thought about success and failure, as well as find some solace that even if our venture failed that perhaps the attempt to bring it would life could yield smaller successes or other innovations.

After perusing a few articles I found the below article entitled "How Failure Breeds Success." It gave multiple examples of how companies and organizations must take risks and undergo failure to achieve real worthwhile successes. In one of the concluding sections (Find Your Own Flaws) which I found most interesting, the author describes that people tend to seek positive outcomes to prove that their idea was worthwhile or correct. However, instead what people should really be doing is trying to prove themselves wrong since focusing on "potential flaws makes failures, and the lessons that come with it, happen earlier." Thus by taking a chance, failing, and learning from it, people and companies can take huge steps forward and make groundbreaking innovations.

Although even after reading this article, I would not say I am a firm believer in failure bringing about success, I can more clearly understand how important the balance is between being realistic about failures and taking chances. Without putting myself or my venture in a vulnerable place, I might never have the opportunity to really take the next step to starting a successful organization. Besides isn't entrepreneurial spirit something we want to impart on the students involved in Brainwave?

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_28/b3992001.htm