Cathie Black, chairman of Hearst Magazines, recently published a book that unveils her secrets to success. Interestingly enough, much like Slaughter Development, her tips encourage readers to embrace failure and take risks.

Five tips from Black’s book, Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and In Life), were recently highlighted on Cosmpolitan.com’s blog. Below are three of these points that deal directly with failure and risk:

Playing It Safe Can Backfire: Most people see taking risks as opening themselves up to unnecessary, maybe even dangerous chances. But the truth is, avoiding risks won’t keep you safe, nor will it guarantee a smooth ride at work or in life.

Failing = Success: The consequences of failure — just like the potential consequences of taking risks — are almost never as terrible as they seem.

Be A Little Naughty: Rule breaking is an underappreciated and underutilized skill. . . .  trust [your] ideas and [yourself] enough to know which rules to break.

Trusting yourself enough to take risks and experience failure is a great method for achieving success. In the book Failure: The Secret To Success, Slaughter Development’s founder Robby Slaughter discusses just how beneficial such thinking can be. Below are short excerpts from chapters one and nine of his book:

Chapter 1: Failure IS An Option

There is an easy way to avoid failure: attempt nothing. This is the route many of us pursue when we encounter a challenging project or a difficult decision. Failure seems like such a black mark on our record that we often try to escape the pangs of error by not taking risks. We sometimes avoid the possibility of screwing up by refusing to venture outside our safety zone.

This strategy does work. But there is a tragic side effect to insulating ourselves from the possibility of failure. If we refuse to take chances that could lead to major errors we also miss the opportunity for significant wins. You cannot have great success without great failure.”

Chapter 9: Winning By Failing

To do what is right, great or brilliant, we often have to first go down the wrong path, build a broken version or suffer from the embarrassment of our mistakes. Doing wrong leads to doing right. Winning starts with failing.

It’s never easy to step outside the comfort zone; even when we know it can lead to great things. That’s why we must first permit ourselves to fail. Stop following the norm—make a mess, avoid recommended tools, operate out of order. Taking steps such as these can inevitably change perspective and help bring to light processes that may have been overlooked or underestimated.

To read further text and/or order a copy of Failure: The Secret To Success, visit the book’s website. To learn more about how Slaughter Development can assist your organization in transforming processes, contact us today.

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