Failure is often feared in business, but for the most successful entrepreneurs, it’s a powerful tool for growth.
In this installment of our C-Suite to Main Street event series, CO— Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Jeanette Mulvey spoke with Brian Scudamore, Founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, about how failure has shaped his journey from a college dropout with a pickup truck to the leader of a $700 million franchise empire. Here’s how Scudamore uses failure as fuel—developing a resilient mindset, building a purpose-driven team, and turning tough moments into long-term wins.
Failure is a stepping stone, not a setback
Scudamore sums up his core philosophy as “WTF” — which, for him, means “Willing To Fail.” He believes that failure is essential to business growth and success, and business owners need to embrace it as a tool for learning.
“You learn more from failures than you do from successes,” explained Scudamore. “When the going gets tough and things are a challenge, … you have to learn to pivot and adapt. It's those tough moments that make us better leaders [and] better people.”
Whether your failure stems from internal missteps or external factors beyond your control, it’s important to own the outcome and learn from it. Scudamore gave the example of when he made the difficult decision to fire his entire team of 11 employees five years into his business. He owned his leadership mistakes and used what he learned to rebuild a stronger company culture with the right people.
“People love to point out and criticize leaders for making mistakes, but the learning only happens when the leader can look and say, ‘What did I do wrong?’” Scudamore said.
[Read more: Don't Be Afraid of Failure: 4 Smart Strategies for Learning From Mistakes]
People love to point out and criticize leaders for making mistakes, but the learning only happens when the leader can look and say, ‘What did I do wrong?’
Brian Scudamore, Founder and CEO, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?
Earn respect and encourage improvement by talking openly about your mistakes
Being willing to fail is a good start, but it’s just as important to have candid discussions about those failures with the people who matter most. It might sting and you may have to put your ego aside, but acknowledging your mistakes and your path forward will ultimately leave people with a better impression of you and your business.
“Does anybody really look at me and think I'm an idiot right now for this mistake? If they do, they'll probably look at me differently if I own it and say, ‘I'm sorry. Here's what I've learned. Here's what I'll do differently,’” said Scudamore. “You gain the respect of your team and the people around you for how you deal with that.”
Scudamore also frequently discusses the idea of failure with his team—and even his kids—to create a culture of honesty, reflection, and continuous improvement.
“People are usually hardest on themselves,” he said. “If someone can have a company where they can allow their people to make mistakes, but learn from them, that's the key.”
[Read more: Learning to ’Fail Upward’ and How It Can Help Your Grow Your Business]
Reframe your notion of failure to inspire your future success
Nobody wants to fail, said Scudamore, but mistakes and obstacles are inevitable in business. It can help to shift your perspective on failure and view it as an opportunity for growth.
“I know that eventually we'll learn or we will grow and evolve based on the challenges we have,” said Scudamore, who has learned to approach leadership with resilience and optimism — even when the path is uncertain.
“Bad things happen in our businesses, but … how we approach them [now is] … more liberating than I might have operated 20 years ago,” he explained. “There's a freedom in just going, ‘Yeah, we'll figure it out. We've got each other and we always do.’”
Scudamore’s No. 1 piece of advice to entrepreneurs who are struggling or unsure of whether their business will succeed is to seek out their inspiration.
“Find your inspiration and hope,” he said. “Don't look for reasons to say, ‘I can't do this.’ [Henry] Ford … said, ‘If you believe you can or you believe you can't, you're right.’ And I believe that.”
Click here to see recaps of past events and information about upcoming dates in our C-Suite to Main Street series.
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.