Failure is essential to growth, innovation and eventual success. The question is not whether or not we fail but what we do with the information, skills and relationships we gain along the way. As long as we manage to avoid making fatal mistakes, each failure is likely to make us stronger and more creative. So go ahead; practice the resilient art of failing. It will make you strong, resilient and creative beyond expectations.

1. The essential art of failing
October 2014

2. Part 1
playing it safe

3. Our ideas of success is
defined by our family,
popular culture and our
environment.
MBA, entrepreneur,
surfer, six-figure salary,
New York penthouse
CPA, Big4 partner,
pianist, six-figure salary,
million-dollar home,
apartment in Paris

4. The boundaries of success are
often perceived as failures,
whether our own or those of our
environment.
bear
market
layoffs
failed CPA exam
glass ceiling
starving
artists 80% of companies
fail during first year
market bubbles
flunked
econ 101
student loans

5. And there are fatal
mistakes we worry
about…
Ebola?
In Texas?

6. Given all this, most of
us stick to the tried and
true.
Big4,
one-bedroom condo,
vacation in Cancun,
upright piano rental
Oil & gas,
roommate,
weekends in
Galveston,
Young Professional
network

7. Part 2
outside the box

8. Entrepreneurship, innovation, growth and success require a healthy dose of failure.
The trick is to survive
the process (no fatal
mistake).

9. And what if we grew with each failure?
(We are used to learning from our mistakes).

10. Better, what if we ventured
further and welcomed our
failures?
Non-fatal failures are simply
information.

11. And what if we took the time to investigate each failure,
with detachment and curiosity?
Innovation rises from the unexpected.
(But we need to let ourselves imagine new outcomes.)

12. What would it take to leverage
failure to our advantage?
Determination,
resilience,
energy,
method.

13. Part 3
methods

14. Failure as feedback
1,000 3,000 500
sales
Q1 Q2 Q3
What happened?
What information
do we have?
Who is talking?

15. Failure as clarity
What works?
What doesn’t?
What works better?
Who owns the failure?
Systemic or temporary?
What’s our responsibility?
What to keep, what to toss?

16. Failure as timing
soon
never now
Is our product ready? Are we ready?
Are our clients ready? Is the environment ready?

17. Failure as clarity
What’s going on?
Better:
What are we unwilling to see?

18. Failure as opportunity
What remains?

19. Part 4
resilience

20. Non-fatal failures always leave residual assets.
equipment
raw material
relationships
skills &
knowledge

21. The big question is:
Do we have the vision and stamina needed to
leverage our failures?

22. And if we did,
What would happen
next?

23. Non-fatal failures are essential to
innovation, learning and continuous
improvement.
Build systems to extract information
from failures.
Practice leveraging setbacks into
new ventures.
Most importantly: have fun. It’s the skills you gain and the relationships you form
that count most.

24. Weinstein Spira is a CPA and business advisory firm that
proactively assists businesses and individuals with
complex tax, audit, business management, wealth
transfer, estate tax and planning needs.
With more than 50 years of experience, we are actively
involved in the Houston community with a significant
network of relationships and resources to serve our
clients.
To learn more about services and career opportunities
visit our website at www.weinsteinspira.com

25. relationships count.
Written and illustrated by Marie-Pierre Stien, Director of Talent Acquisition.
mms@weinsteinspira.com