Failure, and what comes next

Failure is part of building anything new, and most people avoid talking about it. This guide starts with the idea, then looks at cases.

Start with why failing is needed: Derek Sivers gives three reasons in a fifteen-minute talk, to learn, to grow and to experiment. The Failure Recovery Protocol, in French, adds what comes before learning, which is getting back on your feet. Fail fast, they say, but most organisations punish the people who fail.

Then ventures that did not make it. One of my own: a business idea, explored more than ten years ago, to replace the greeting card with a phone call. It was not viable, and it taught two lessons. Others follow: ten ways to mess up your startup, and Failory’s interviews with founders of startups that almost made it.

Last, companies. Paul Graham explains what happened to Yahoo, the film on WeWork shows a vision that hid a business model that did not hold, and a note on corporate innovation explains why most projects fail and how to survive as head of innovation.