Retail Radar 01-Oct-2024

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The Descent—Business and Personal Failure and How Great People Rise

Many myths and stories exist about an influential figure descending into the underworld.

Stripped of everything, piece by piece, they face their most significant challenges in the depths. This metaphor resonates deeply with the experience of failure, whether in life or business. I’ve never known anyone of great success who hasn’t lived this descent many times throughout my career. It has been observed, both personally and professionally.

And I’ve seen how failure—no matter how devastating—can catalyze transformation and growth.

The Promise: Embracing Failure as Part of the Journey

The promise I’ve found in every moment of failure is simple: it’s not the end. Failure, if approached with the right mindset, becomes a turning point. It’s uncomfortable, even painful, but it’s essential for growth. We all have our version of the underworld—the lowest point where things fall apart, and we feel stripped of everything we thought we knew. But I’ve learned that in those moments, we are given a unique opportunity to rebuild and become something more substantial, sharper, and resilient.

Descent happens. You hit your lowest point. Then, you have a choice: stay there or decide to rise. I’ve seen this transformation in businesses and people—leaders who could embrace failure, learn from it and use it as fuel for their next growth stage.

The Proof: Real Lessons from My Descent

One of my most challenging projects was with an outsourcing company during significant industry shifts and uncertainties. The company had a handful of successes, but few believed it could deliver on its promises. To compete with proven leaders and keep pace with the competition, which we often internal resources, we faced fears about offshore development.

It felt like we were in free fall—being pushed into the underworld by the market and our clients.

But instead of fighting it, I leaned in. We developed rigorous methods and an approach to identifying and tackling the deepest operational issues within the company’s IT. This wasn’t just about solving a surface-level problem; it required us to confront uncomfortable truths about what was holding the company back: cultural biases, skills, and 11 time zones. We needed to change, which began by recognizing that we were in a place of failure.

The result? We reached $1B in revenue in ten years, with $ 10M generated from the method we created during that descent.

Similarly, when I worked with a major PC manufacturer, we navigated the complexities of rogue departments worldwide. The company struggled with out-of-control spending, brand confusion, and risk created by individual leaders who implemented unauthorized systems and stood up technology e-commerce platforms without the proper guard rails. Systems would fail or create challenges for customers, some of whom bought tens of thousands of PCs annually.

But failure was the catalyst for transformation. We turned the departments into collaborators and removed the burden and stress of support from their teams into a “One IT” global force.

These experiences reinforced the lesson that failure isn’t the end—it’s the beginning of something new. But it only works if you’re willing to face it head-on, learn from it, and be proactive in learning to rise.

The Path: Preparation, Introspection, and Transformation

So, how does one rise from failure? The path forward requires preparation, introspection, and a commitment to constant transformation.

Like the myth heroes, the ability to rise comes from preparation. Preparation means knowing that failure may be part of the process. We can be better equipped to face it if we acknowledge that we will eventually descend into the underworld. This involves setting up systems and practices that can weather turbulence. This preparation comes from studying market dynamics; by anticipating disruption, one can steer businesses through turbulence and emerge stronger, and for this, I have one rule.

Always have a backdoor.

I’ve seen companies successfully navigate digital transformation by avoiding failure and shifting consumer behavior. The result was an improvement in their internal systems, and millions of customers entered a new digital era. Preparation gives us the tools to handle the fall.

Be mindful.

Introspection is vital for leaders facing failure. One must be willing to “state hard truths” and dig deep into the root causes. This process mirrors the heroes’ journey—a leader must strip away ego, assumptions, and surface-level thinking to understand what is going wrong truly. A leader “turns problems sideways to think differently,” finding innovative solutions where others might only see dead ends.

During the most challenging times in my career, I’ve had to be brutally honest with myself and my teams. Avoiding the truth only prolongs the descent. Confronting it is the only way to start climbing back up.

Finally, transformation is about committing to the often painful change that failure demands. It’s not enough to survive the fall—we need to emerge from it with a new perspective and approach.

Conclusion: Rising Stronger

Failure isn’t just something to endure; it’s something to navigate. In my experience, the most significant growth happens after we’ve hit our lowest points. The descent into failure teaches us lessons we can’t learn any other way. It strips us down, forces us to confront hard truths, and—if willing—gives us the chance to rebuild stronger than before.

So when you find yourself in the depths, remember this: the descent is part of the journey. And the rise, if you’re committed to it, can take you higher than you ever imagined.

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Onward.

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