Good News from Thu, 02 February, 2012:

Through failure to success

REETI SAARINEN Among the attendees at last year’s Day of Failure were Peter Vesterbacka from Rovio and the writer of No Fear, Pekka Viljakainen
To start-up businesses failure is an excellent learning opportunity. This way of thinking is emphasized by the International Day of Failure which is hoped to bring to life a new environment that supports the nation’s risk takers  -  and tomorrow’s success stories.

To support its large age groups as they move into retirement Finland requires more than 200,000 new jobs over the coming ten years to maintain its welfare state.

— We need ambitious risk takers, people who want to change the world, who will try and fail, try again and finally succeed, explains Riku Lindholm of the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society (Aaltoes).

The prevailing attitude in Finland however is not one that has traditionally supported risk taking.

— This isn’t a place where you get a pat on the back and encouragement after you fail.  If you fail, you lose face.  And this is the attitude we’d like to change.

Try, and take chances

The idea of the Day of Failure came about in 2009 when the active Aaltoes team took part in the FailCon ‘failure conference’ held in Silicon Valley.  The first Day of Failure in Finland took place in October 2010.

— In the summer of 2011 we decided with a new team to create a national phenomenon from this day of failure, something that not just entrepreneurs would take note of.

— Failure in itself is not the point, it is the learning from it that matters.  The important thing is to try out brave new ideas.

— Failures are excellent learning opportunities where individuals and companies consider what went wrong before ambitiously setting course for new challenges.  It is unlikely that you will think up anything new and excellent if you don’t ever try anything new and take brave risks.  Failure is one of the cornerstones of success.

Towards a culture change

Although start-up companies often fail, according to Lindholm they often also serve to show the way by trying out things that others either did earlier not want to or were scared to believe.

— The companies which succeed often reap rewards many times over both for themselves and for society as a whole.

As a good example of a start-up company Lindholm cites Rovio and their incredibly successful Angry Birds.

— Rovio produced 52 games before Angry Birds and almost ended in bankruptcy.  In the end, though, it worked out alright, Lindholm smiles.

The next national Day of Failure will be held 13.10.2012.  The idea is once again to demonstrate through examples of brave and risky ventures how failure, learning, ambition and the future of Finland are intertwined.  Invitations will be extended to students, business and state leaders as well as the most successful Finns from various areas.

— Our long term aim is to achieve a culture change in our national attitudes and to eradicate the stigma of failure from our society.

www.epaonnistumisenpaiva.fi

SO

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Comments (1)

William Damulira Thu 2 February 2012 at 18:29
I would like to integrate me in your team