Failure…and the coolest billionaires around

Although he’s fourth on the big “B” list, the name I’d pick as a billionaire would be Carlos Slim. He seems straight out of an Elmore Leonard novel or part of Stephen King’s gunslinger series. He’s tough, he’s cool and he’s rich.

The eight wealthiest people in the world are: Bill Gates, $75 billion; Amancio Ortega, $67 billion; Warren Buffett, $61 billion; Carlos Slim Helú, $50 billion; Jeff Bezos, $45 billion; Mark Zuckerberg, $45 billion; Larry Ellison, $44 billion and Michael Bloomberg, $40 billion. Of course I should cite the exact date of this calculation but it doesn’t matter. Short of a replacement for the iPhone or a better-than-Amazon model this list will change little — one horse will continue to pass another until they get to the next turn.

But the title of this column mentions failure. Everyone on the “B” list has seen it. Some, multiple times. Every start up will see it. Some fail up front, others progress to the steady-on phase while a few survive and thrive long enough to become what we call established businesses. Our bookshelves proudly bulge with winning advice on habits, strengths, dysfunctions and how-to-be-a-millionaire, but failure is a personal, private beast. We see the winners of dancing, singing and shark competitions but others weep in lonely corridors and back bedrooms.

We have a misguided culture where failure is shameful. It’s healthy to discuss failure. I believe these discussions keep us from lying to ourselves and others. The more we discuss “tough times” the more we solve them. Of course some, myself included, revert to bitching and complaining a bit too often. When I’m clear-headed, open minded and bravely vulnerable I get great advice, and I dig deep into my own mental and experiential resources.

Focusing on a list of rich guys does little to calibrate our own day-to-day struggles. When we add three things to our curious list watching we transform our own failure into opportunity:

1. Study achievers — My core business purpose has been constant for over 30 years: teach people how to live long enough to spend the money they’re trying to make. Half of that equation is balancing life. The other half is leveraging achievement and approaching mastery. This means studying the highest achievers throughout history.

2. Practice Quid Novi — I’m not talking about Tai chi or Qigong. This Latin term means “What’s New.” Get out and explore what’s new in your world and beyond. Steve Jobs explored his “what’s new” while visiting Xerox Labs—computing was never the same. Anything new includes some failure. Get used to it or get over it.

3. Gird yourself — Get ready, train, practice, do your homework. Don’t let failure be a surprise. In fact, when you gird or prepare yourself, someone else’s failure is your milestone. We teach that it’s 10 times harder (or more expensive) to fix a problem rather than to prevent it. That 10-to-one ratio says it all—for someone who’s listening. For others, too busy being busy, they’ll keep giving each other rewards or fixing recurring problems.. Even though the big boys on the list at the top of this article have seen their share of failure, they’re still a group of eight people who are worth more than the poorest half of the entire world. Carlos Slim Helú bought his first stock at 12 and became a shareholder of Mexico’s largest bank at 15. Educated in business, finance and engineering, he relentlessly invested in failing businesses and industries. Then, he waited. Everyone hears and talks about diversifying to reduce risk—Slim did it. This allowed him to insulate his ventures from most risk while waiting for business sectors to recover…and profit. Few Americans know that a Mexican topped the list of the richest people in the world from 2010 to 2013. Initially, I liked his name. Now, I respect his style.

Rick Griggs is a former Intel Corp. training manager and inventor of the rolestorming creativity tool. He speaks on balance, teams and the confidence of Napoleon. Reach him at 970-690-7327.

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