3 main reasons for failure in life

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Usually, in pursuit of success, we try to learn from the experience of those who have already achieved it. However, it would be no less useful and instructive to get to know more about the downside of success. What is the reason for the failure? Why do they pursue some people and not overtake others? Can you learn to avoid failures? Let's try to figure it out.

If we try to identify and classify the main causes of lesions, then in their most general form they will look like this:

1. Tactics. This is a "How to do?" Error, which is a bad way of doing it.
2. Strategy. This is a mistake "What to do?", That is, the wrong choice of ways to achieve the goal.
3. Goal setting. This is a mistake “Why do it?”, That is, setting false, unnecessary tasks for you.

Let's take a closer look at each of these reasons.

A mistake in tactics

Sam Carpenter started his business in 1984. He invested in Centratel, which provided telephone dispatcher services for doctors, veterinarians, electricians and other people who were often called by telephone. However, not everything went as planned.

For the next 15 (!) Years Sam worked 80 to 100 hours a week with little or no progress.

Imagine the most mentally and physically exhausted person, and then multiply that by 10. That is what I was. It was a terrible time. I was about to declare bankruptcy.

Sam Carpenter entrepreneur, book author

However, it was at this critical moment that he decided to try to change everything. Sam literally under the microscope reviewed all the business processes of the company and wrote out detailed rules for each of them.

How to make a presentation of a new service? How to top up a subscriber account? How to fill out an application and send it to the contractor? For each procedure, a step-by-step guide was drawn up, which all employees were obliged to follow.

Then something amazing happened. Carpenter's workweek dropped rapidly from 100 hours to less than 10 hours a week. He was no longer needed to deal with every emergency because the staff had detailed instructions for every event. The quality and speed of their work improved, and Centratel's revenues grew by 40%.

How to avoid tactical mistakes

1. Record your actions.
2. Measure the result.
3. Correct your tactics and return to the first point.

A mistake in strategy

In March 1999, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, decided to try new directions for the company. At first, it was Amazon Auctions, a service that made it possible for anyone to sell anything. A deafening failure. Then they decided to open the Amazon zShops service, which allows companies of all sizes to create their own marketplace on Amazon. The same disastrous fate befell him.

I have invested billions of dollars in failed projects at Amazon.com. Literally billions.

Jeff Bezos founder of Amazon

However, die-hard Jeff decided to create another platform for third-party sellers. In November 2000, the Amazon Marketplace was launched, which provides the ability to sell new and used products on Amazon. This strategy worked. Marketplace currently accounts for nearly 50% of total sales on Amazon.com.

How to avoid strategic mistakes

1. Start up quickly.
2. Don't invest all your funds.
3. Analyze achievements. If they are absent, look for a new strategy and return to the first point.

Goal-setting error

Raymond Albert Kroc did not have any outstanding achievements until the age of 50. All of his projects regularly failed, and eventually he became a itinerant merchant offering various cafes and restaurants to buy paper cups. Everything changed the moment he stepped into the McDonald's diner. It was here that he got the idea of organizing a chain of fast food McDonald’s, which made the author one of the 100 most important people of the century according to Time magazine.

The two most important requirements for great success are, first, to be in the right place at the right time, and second, to do something about it.

Raymond Kroc founder of McDonald's corporation

Setting goals incorrectly is the most damaging mistake to success. It arises when your internal needs and desires do not coincide with what society, relatives or circumstances impose on you. In this case, no matter what strategy or tactics you use, you will not see much success.

How to avoid decoys

1. Take a break sometimes and listen to your inner feelings. Learn to appreciate them.
2. Look for your passion. That's right: not a desire, not a dream and not pleasure, but passion.
3. Ignore critics. Criticism is very useful when you need to correct strategic or tactical mistakes. But at this level, it only hurts.

Of course, this article presents a too superficial diagram of the origin of failure. Yes, there are complex connections and interactions between each level that can change this scheme beyond recognition. And you shouldn't discount the individual characteristics of each person and the conditions in which he finds himself.

If you've read this far, I hope you found this article helpful. Perhaps it will help explain the reasons for past mistakes or come up with unexpected solutions to accumulated problems. Share your thoughts on this in the comments?