Finding Empowerment Through Failure
“You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.” - Wayne Gretzky
Failure is usually thought of only as a negative thing. Nobody wants to ever fail. People think failure is the end, but in reality, what people don’t realize is that failure is the beginning of great success. The idea of being a perfectionist and the mindset of never messing up needs to be thrown out the window in the advertising and public relations industry. This issue stems from how schools are structured. There is so much pressure to get perfect grades and to be flawless in every project that students let go of any thought of taking risks. An alternative to this system would be teaching young professionals to accept failure and learn from their mistakes instead of getting punished for falling short. This change will not only lead to innovative ideas and amazing work, but also to learning acceptance in that nobody is perfect, no matter what.
Failure in Ad/PR
When it comes to advertising and public relations, there’s a massive amount of pressure that can make you feel like you can’t really fail when working with a client or creating a project. When you are creating that ground-breaking campaign or writing the pitch that will bring your client to the next level, and so on, the work that you do is expected to be at the highest standard at all times. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, or unexpected. If a client or firm is spending money and trusting others to create something for them, naturally they expect something that is polished and perfected. There is one downside to this dull cycle, however, and it’s that these expectations often lead professionals to take the easy route. Again, this isn’t a bad thing, as businesses don’t want to lose money or look bad in the eyes of others, but in this industry, things should be different. People should be more open-minded and allow space for risks and failure.
How Does Failure Lead To Success?
Take a second to think about different innovators in the world. When you think of big names like Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos, you don’t necessarily think of failure. Instead, you imagine great success like the iPhone or Amazon. Believe it or not, these great thinkers have failed countless times. Steve Jobs was actually fired from Apple nine years after he started the company. In many interviews and speeches, Jobs has said that getting fired from Apple was one of the best things that could have happened to him. Steve Jobs learned a lot about marketing, innovation, and being a better leader after he was fired. This is a great example of learning from your mistakes. The professional world needs to avoid the stigma of failure but instead embrace risk and unknown territories. Great minds become great by learning from their mistakes and building up from the start.
Embrace Your Mistakes
Doing things by the books will only get you so far in life. We need to have people working in advertising and public relations that are able to take a look at the bigger picture and accept failure. I believe that in the Ad/PR world, professionals need to be more open-minded when it comes to trying new unconventional things with projects and campaigns. If the work you create doesn’t have any potential for failure, then it won’t ever be anything different from the rest of the stuff that is out there right now. So go out into the world with a hungry mind and creative attitude. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous and bold when creating something new, just have a backup plan for yourself and move forward from your mistakes!
About Desmond
Desmond Ray is a junior this year majoring in Advertising & Public Relations with a minor in Marketing. Desmond is currently working at Goldman and Associates Law Firm as a marketing intern. This is Desmond's first year with GrandPR, where he serves as an Account Executive.