What is failure?

After the Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on April 26th, Giannis Antettokounmpo exchanged with a reporter during the postgame press conference, generating many conversations about failure.?Giannis is arguably the best professional basketball player in the league today.?The Bucks were ranked the best team in the association based on their record for the regular season and were favored to win the NBA championship.?By losing to the Heat that night, their postseason was over.?

The reporter asked Giannis if he felt the 2022-23 season was a failure.?Giannis surprised everyone by responding with a speech explaining why it was the wrong question.?He pointed out that the loss was part of a journey.?He did not equate losses or seasons without championship wins as failures.?He asked provocatively if the reporter felt that Michael Jordan, who won 6 championships, had nine years of failure for those years when he did not.?He saw the loss as part of the learning process toward the next championship.

I was very impressed with Giannis’ poise.?He could articulate his thoughts spontaneously, clearly, and passionately without being argumentative.?His impassioned speech touched many people differently.?Sports commentators discussed it on print, TV, and radio.?People reacted to it on social media.?Unsurprisingly, people were divided on whether they agreed with him.

People felt this was a failure on one side of the debate.?The Bucks were heavily favored going into the postseason and were knocked out in the first round.?Giannis and the Bucks failed to meet the general expectations of many.?To others, Giannis’ approach to seeing the forest for the trees was profound and inspirational.?They rallied around Giannis for not letting the moment of defeat define him or his team as failures.?

While I do not have the pressure Giannis has in carrying a professional basketball franchise, I have accountabilities at home, work, and in the community.?I have had significant setbacks in all three life aspects that make me relate well to this topic.?So here are some of my thoughts on failure.

Who defines failure? – It is all relative.?My achievements and failures are viewed differently by different people.?Each person judges my results based on their values, beliefs, and how they are impacted.?Some people may judge me for the results of one project, metric, or point in time.?Others may judge me based on my cumulative performance over time.?Some people may judge my performance against my previous results.?Others will evaluate whether I have failed based on how I performed against others.?The point is not to be trapped by one perspective of failure.?See failure from various angles and prioritize what needs to be done.

Should we spin failure into a positive? – We have all seen spin doctors turning a failure into a positive.?It is often challenging to accept positivity when it feels forced or fabricated.?It is often better to acknowledge the elephant in the room.?However, optimism can be helpful for everyone, especially you, to move on.?Name what failed, own it, then optimistically move forward.??

How do I react to failure? – As a Catholic Chinese American, I grew up with plenty of guilt as the motivator.?I did not ever want to sin or bring shame to myself or my family.?I set standards for myself based on others’ expectations.?My eagerness to take accountability leads me to take the blame rather than assigning it. ?I react to failure very personally, and often my peers talk me down by expanding my perspective. ?Take a breath and be open to outside views on failures.?

Who is impacted by failure? – I am not talking about everyone who bet the Bucks to win the championship because they should have known better and bet on the Boston Celtics instead.?However, in Giannis’ response, consideration was absent for others who might have been affected by the Bucks’ loss.?What if the revenue used to forecast the team’s operational budget assumed they would go deeper into the playoffs??What if not meeting the budget meant people were laid off??Any leader with P&L responsibilities would recognize the importance of knowing the downstream impact of failing to meet expected financial results.?Consider who and what is impacted by each failure.

How do I bounce back? – I gained much tenacity shoveling snow during New England winters.?I have a strong aptitude for grinding through failures.?I have bounced back each time I failed.?I do it because I can improve and learn from each failure.?My purpose and conviction do not give in to quitting or becoming a victim of circumstance.?I get back up because of the love and support of those around me. I overcome failure because I want to perform my part to win for them.?Lean on purpose, plan, performance, and people.

Thanks for reading.?Do you agree with Giannis’ take on failure??What is your take on failure??Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and share this article with your networks to continue this important dialogue.