Most of us see Google as such a successful colossus that we forget that giants also stumble (and fall), and that success and failure are part of the same coin called life. Here are a few thoughts regarding success and failure.

Perception:  put failure in the right perspective; it’s an opportunity to regroup and learn while accepting the (failed) experiment as part of the journey of life and success.

Change:  change depreciates the value of specific historical information, making specific predictions difficult and correspondingly risky. But what goes about comes about – and while specific predictions are difficult, trends are not. Build a business plan that acknowledged the inevitable – but is not dependent on the specific. For example, northern cities all plan for snow removal based on historic trends. Specific snow days and snow volumes for the upcoming year are anyone’s guess.

Limitation:  in a world of limitation, the fundamental question is not whether people should accept failure. Rather, the question is how to anticipate failure and redirect resources to grow from the experience. On any given day there are so many variables beyond our control that it would be foolhardy to design a business plan that does not include a failure-factor. For example. At the retail level theft, breakage + returns are built into the retail price.

Information:  scarcity of good information will present itself somewhere, somehow, sometime. The key is to learn from what this new failure teaches you and prevent it, if at all possible, from happening again. For example. At the retail level we know some of our products will be broken or stolen but not which ones.

Perfection: it's unattainable - period. In most industries failure is the most inevitable outcome. So any assumption regarding perfection stands at odds with the most fundamental premise of success: failure is inevitable.

Planning:  because we cannot predict then future, we need to do our best to infer the best course through uncharted waters practically + intuitively. It’s how our ancestors discovered and settled the entire world. Today we’re exploring the solar system with exciting new tools, but the bottom line is the same for yesterday, today and tomorrow’s explorers: we do our best to estimate and anticipate risk and failure with a tolerable level of precision.

Execution:  failure is not only the output of an unsuccessful activity; it is also the input of a successful one. Performance only changes and improves to the degree that you change and improve as a result of successful and failed tests.

Consequence:  some look at failure as an extremely blunt instrument and surrender their dreams because of its potential consequences. Although tempting, do not allow the consequences of failure to harden your heart. The world is littered with the victims of failure. Yet failure leads to victory. Use each failure as feedback in your constant progression toward your goals.

Morris Saffer, one of my most insightful mentors taught me that we shouldn’t worry about stumbling or falling because that's inevitable. “Focus on how you recovery from the fall. That's what separates the winners from those who also ran.”

Michelle (my wife), Charlie (our dog) and I just got back from a 5,000 km plus trip that took us to Winnipeg and back, through Canada and many Northern States. It’s a beautiful trip across wonderful country packed with interesting people and places. Sadly we’re seeing more abandoned homes and businesses along the primary and secondary roads we travel. In some cases it’s because the latest highway improvement did away with the vital off-ramp. In other cases the industry that gave reason and sustenance to the town has moved on.

Now giant fibreglass fish, oxen, and skiers are many towns’ last investment and hope that a few tourists will stop by and help extend the town’s lifespan.

We also see a lot of discount or manufacturer’s outlet malls built around name brand discount food, gas and lodgings. They all look the same whether you’re in Wisconsin or New York state. It makes us wonder if there is a specal highway intersection master franchise licensing agreement that explicitly rules out any sense of local or cultural identity.

The Upper Peninsula (a.k.a. the U.P.) is one of the few exceptions. Local crafts are on sales everywhere – suggesting communities are working together to rebuild their tattered economies.

When I'm in Winnipeg, I can sit and watch trainloads of China Shipping containers file by all day long. And each time I wonder: what would Canada be like if it said B.C. Shipping on the 1st container, Alberta Shipping on the second container, Saskatchewan Shipping on the third container, Manitoba Shipping on the next one, Ontario Shipping on the next one. And so on and so on.

What if we were not so obsessed with “fast + cheap” and realized that if we want a great future for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren, we need to pay a bit more to enable local companies to stay here, thrive here, employ the local community, and give us all the national pride that comes from quality products and services that are “Made in Canada”. (Not just "designed in Canada and made in China").

On my birthday my mother always wishes me good health, happiness and peace of mind. For most of my life I didn’t get it. I thought sex, drugs and rock-and-roll would be more fitting birthday presents. But more recently I’ve come to treasure her three wishes and wish our great country the same three things: vibrant environmental & economic health, happiness for all Canadians coast to coast to coast, as well as local + world peace in our time.

I'll leave you with a quote (that I found on a detergent bottle of all places) because it speaks to an intellectual state of mind we all need to reach if my wish for Canada is to come true.

"In our deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."

—     From the great law of the Iroquois Confederacy. 

After a good meal Charlie and I feel content and both want to have a little nap. And when we snooze, we loose. Opportunities continue to flow by in the river of life but we’re too comfortable to notice them and seek them out.

The greatest gains in life are made during times of social or industrial turmoil. When I felt that my situation wasn’t good enough – or as good as it could be, especially after a layoff, I took more and greater risks because I had less to loose. And so it is with brands and brand stewardship as well.

New brands that are staking out their first territory have no following to alienate, nothing to lose and everything to gain. Think Uber.

In a few years I predict Uber will scream “bloody murder” because someone has disrupted it’s profitable but flimsy business model.

The business models of the most progressive organizations that I have worked with always made alternative thinkers welcome, but not too comfortable or secure. The strategy enables most of the organization to focus on the core business while not loosing sight of the need to seek out and seize new opportunities before the competition does.   

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” – Pablo Picasso

Placing a car into a fish-tank full of gold-fish is a nice idea.

Doing so digitally is how it’s usually done these days.

Putting a brand new car into an aquarium full of gold-fish in a busy mall takes a bit more money and far more audacity.

Audacity doesn’t win you a brand war or skirmish, but if done right, it can get you on the short list of brands that people take notice of.

Audacity is best followed by brand integrity and an opportunity to experience some of the stuff that can help assure them that your brand really is different because your culture really is different in ways that are aligned with and support thier professional or personal paths.

Better people make better communities - and run better businesses. Had I understood 1/2 this stuff in my formative I would have been a much better person, employee and employer.

While I’m not a fan of reposting, these lessons on life by Andy Rooney are worth sharing. Mr. Rooney was an American radio and television writer who was best known for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney," a part of the CBS News program 60 Minutes from 1978 to 2011.

“1. The best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

2. When you're in love, it shows.

3. Just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day. 

4. Being kind is more important than being right.

5. Never say no to a gift from a child.

6. I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in any other way.

7. No matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

8. Sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

9. Simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

10. Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

11. We should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

12. Money doesn't buy class.

13. It's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

14. Under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

15. To ignore the facts does not change the facts.

16. When you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

17. Love, not time, heals all wounds.

18. The easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

19. Everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

20. No one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

21. Life is tough, but I'm tougher.

22. Opportunities are never lost; someone takes the ones you miss.

23. When you harbour bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

24. I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

25. Keep your words both soft and tender because tomorrow you may have to eat them.

26. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

27. While everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

28. The less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.”

And my favourite:

29. “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”