Setbacks can make you stronger

of the toughest things you will ever have to do in life and at work, is to bounce back from setbacks.

Yet, the ability to recover is arguably the most useful skill that you can master. What you do when you encounter these stumbling blocks will determine how successful you become.

Richard Yates wrote in his critically acclaimed book Revolutionary Road; “If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail… it takes backbone to lead the life you want.”

The only way to insulate yourself from any failure is to never try anything. But this, by definition, means you’ll never stand a chance of succeeding at anything.

In the last two decades of entrepreneurship, this ability to recover from setbacks is arguably the most significant skill I have had to work on.

In business, as with your worklife, failure is always a possibility. But learning not to allow your failures to debilitate you is the key for continued growth.

For example, I own a neighbourhood bistro restaurant called D’Legends, in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. When I decided to get into this business, some of my business associates questioned my wisdom in buying into the rather unpredictable food and beverage sector.

To be honest, I decided to buy this business in 2015 because it offered me a platform to test my skills for my “real” job as a management consultant and leadership coach.

I wanted to be in frontlines of running a brick-and-mortar business that entailed dealing with human resource management, and operational issues ranging from errant suppliers to underhanded competition as well as bad reviews and government licensing complexities.

But this was not actually my first foray into the food and beverage industry.

I started my first restaurant way back in 1999 when I opened a banana leaf eatery in Melaka.

Ironically, at the time I was also the chief executive of a college of higher learning. Notwithstanding the gravity of that position, I went ahead and opened the restaurant with some investors.

The first few months went well. But juggling between both businesses required me to be a skilled time manager; which I was not. I had no prior experience, so I blindly trusted others, and that turned out pretty badly.

Unfortunately, the business went bust after just two short but expensive years. I spent some time wallowing in self-pity, because it was hard for me to see my own role in the business failure. And of course, I swore that I would stay away from this cutthroat food industry.

Fifteen years later, armed with more experience and self-belief, I decided to brace myself and get back into the food business, with D’Legends in Kuala Lumpur.

How does one rebound from failures like this?

I had to reflect seriously on this before I put to paper, and bought into my second attempt at being a restaurateur.

First, take time to understand why the failure happened. Be introspective. Every time you think it was an external factor; actively stop yourself. Ask yourself, “what was my role in making that external factor impact my decision making”.

I had to examine everything that happened years earlier, and decipher my role in the failure of that business.

Next, get guidance. When I was contemplating buying this business, I started seeking people who had a track record of being successful food business owners. I spent hours and hours observing them, and talking with them.

I wanted to learn from them, and I worked at developing relationships with them. I took their feedback seriously and absorbed what they said. This guidance has helped me navigate the intricacies of the business.

The third thing was that I figured out it was easiest to blame others for any failure. So, I learnt that no one else is to blame for my misfortune.

This meant I had to own my decisions, regardless of the outcome. Therefore, I realised that when I bought this new business, I had to take charge of everything, and I knew that its success or failure would rest on my decisions

Allow your failures and setbacks to force you to take a step back and look around to see where you are; to reflect on your decision making processes; and for you to hit the reset button, where necessary.

Remember, just like me with my food businesses, you too will have setbacks at work at some point in your career. You might have that embarrassing moment when you fail publicly at work, or you get demoted or even fired.

Just make sure you do not let your setbacks take you down, but instead, learn to bounce back stronger.

In business, as with your work-life, failure is always a possibility. But learning not to allow your failures to debilitate you is the key for continued growth

The writer is managing consultant and executive leadership coach at EQTD Consulting. He is also the author of the national bestseller ‘So, You Want To Get Promoted?’