Topic Hub
Failure
Failure is data, not destiny — every setback carries information that success never could, if you're willing to look at it honestly.
What Is Failure?
Failure isn't the opposite of success; it's a through-point. Nic reframes failure as data: every failed experiment, product launch, or business gives you information you didn't have before.
The blameless postmortem, borrowed from engineering culture, is the practice of examining failure without assigning fault. It creates psychological safety and turns every setback into a learning opportunity.
Why Failure Matters
Teams that fear failure don't innovate. Period. Post-traumatic growth, the phenomenon where people emerge from adversity stronger than before, only happens when organisations create space for honest examination of what went wrong.
Dyson built 5,127 prototypes before getting it right. That's not persistence for its own sake; that's systematic failure as a design methodology.
Recent Articles on Failure
Advice from 40 year old me to 20 year old me
I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since that article was published and took on a life of its own.
How I Stopped Being an Asshole Entrepreneur
I used to be an asshole. Not in the self-deprecating, funny, quirky sort of way.
From a $50m listed entity to $10m and going bust
Shawn Johal worked in his wife’s growing family business until the tides turned and the listed company went bust.
Scaling When The Money Stops Coming
Raising funding feels like a victory but can often be the kiss of death for a startup.
The $6400 Decision That Saved This Startup
The Daily Maverick is an important business.
Here’s Why You Feel Like A Failure Most Of The Time
If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will always feel like a failure. If you judge your success by someone else’s definition you will always feel like a failure.
The Business Builder’s Toolkit - My New Book
When chaos takes over the world there are three ways that I have seen people respond:
The Best Founders Diversify Their Identity
How often do you think about your own identity?
What are the most common mistakes first time entrepreneurs make?
I started my first business when I was 16.
Being Busy is Killing You
It’s fashionable to be frantic. It’s all the rage to be sleep-deprived and broken when you wake up every day.
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