Success Can Actually Make People Fail

Back in 2011 Fransesca Gino and Gary Pisano wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review that still holds true today. In this article they make the bold statement that both individuals and organizations can actually become failures by being successful.

“When you’re confronted with failure, it’s natural to ask why disaster struck. Unfortunately, success does not trigger such soul-searching.”

They reason to believe that because you have already become successful, or are in a position of progression, you don’t feel the need to do anything more. We simply stop working as hard as we used to. We forget the work and the amount of sacrifice that it took to get to that success.

When I owned a construction company, I worked hard to get where I was. However, there was a long period of time that I didn’t see any growth. I am living proof that the Gino and Pisano study is true. Looking back, I realize that I stopped working as hard as I did in the beginning.

Instead of making cold calls to real estate agents, I would have a few beers after a long day. Instead of making visits to prospective clients, I was out schmoozing with other business owners. Which by the way gets you no new business what-so-ever. It’s really just an excuse to go out drinking with the guys. Both of these are choices that caused me to become complacent. There is nothing worse than building a business up, then slowly and possibly unknowingly, letting it fall.

Time To Investigate

I believe that upon becoming successful we trick ourselves in to believing that we’ve done all that we can. We believe this because we become busy, we have money coming in, and have possibly gained some higher profile connections. At this point I’m sure that you’ve read a good portion of each ‘entrepreneur’, or ‘self improvement’ book that your friends have recommended to you. So by now you know that all you have to do is surround yourself by like minded people and your bank account will grow.

Surely the people that recommended the book to you are the like minded people you need to be around. They read the same book and seem to be making more money than you. After all, Jim Rohn says:

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

So if you keep your circle small with the right people in place, you’ll become more successful. That is the problem.

Failing because of success is not your fault.

We live in a world today with a bunch of internet experts all selling the secret to success. From books to podcasts, there are millions of expert tips to choose from. There are so many choices though! How do we choose? We ask a friend of course.

Every time I had asked a friend for advice, I was usually given a quote out of a Gary Vaynerchuk book a Tai Lopez course. Not that these guys don’t know what they’re doing. They are experts in their field. It’s just that the person taking their course is not an expert. Add short attention spans, lack of detail, bad memory, and alcohol to the equation and you can get some really bad advice.

It’s a regurgitated interpretation from an aspiring business owner that wants to be recognized as an expert. An expert that has spent 6 months reading about entrepreneurship online from other entrepreneurs that are in the same boat.

It’s the information passed on from one drunk business conversation at the bar to the next. They pass it on to you, you then pass it on to the next.

“Your friends make you fat, but so do their friends, and so do their friends of friends.” — David Burkus

While I’m sure that your friend does not have the intention of giving you bad advice, that is exactly what is happening. Don’t just blame your friends, or your friend’s friends. Not after you read this article. If you read this and continue down the path of taking bad advice, and not put in the work that is required to keep your business prosperous, the fault is yours. I would suggest performing a heavy investigation on your circle. Influence plays a massive factor in our decision making process and in the habits that we create. Don’t just “take their word for it”, do the research yourself. It could be the difference between good or bad business.

Tighten Things Up

Brianna West wrote an article for Forbes where she pointed out the top three things that business who fail in their first year have in common. I’m going to list them below, not in order of importance.

The product or service wasn’t clear
There was a lack of structure
The founder wasn’t ready

“In my opinion, the #1 reason businesses fail is due to founder mindset.” — Kate Bagoy, (business coach who helps self-employed entrepreneurs turn large profits)

Wow! That’s a tough statement to hear or read. The founder wasn’t ready. As much as I don’t like to admit it, she’s right! Each time I failed in one of my businesses, I realized I wasn’t ready. Now I know what you’re going to say.

“There’s no better time to start than now” or,

“You don’t need to be an expert, you just have to know a little more than most people”.

While that may be true in the beginning stages of a business, it shouldn’t always be your way of thinking. If you are going to make it past your first year, you need to learn to adapt and grow. I got caught up in the trap of letting my circle dictate my business. I felt energized from motivational conversations. I was inspired by the stories of other people. The way that I felt blinded me from what was actually happening.

While I felt like good things were happening, projects were falling behind schedule, partnerships were becoming toxic, and I was spending my valuable time in things that were not valuable. I wasn’t growing.

I know that I sounded like I was bashing new entrepreneurs. That’s not the case. I think that we need to keep our perspective true. New entrepreneurs shouldn’t be giving business advice to other new entrepreneurs in a way that they are perceived as an expert. Knowledge sharing is a great tool. Sharing ideas and experiences can be very helpful. Also, when we open ourselves up to the vulnerability of not being an expert, we begin gain trust in like minded people. What do you get when you have a group of vulnerable, hungry, motivated, like-minded people?

A circle.

A circle with accountability, endless possibilities, and increased opportunities.

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Previously published on medium

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