The Difference between Noble and Ignoble Failure

While I was researching the concept of failure, I came across a fascinating article by John J Sviokla who pens the blog Daily Innovation. John shared his insights about failure, accountability, and how it impacts the workplace.

Dave Pottruck former co-CEO at Charles Schwab was fired in 2004 because he did not turn the company around fast enough after the dot com downturn.   Needless to say, Dave understands risk and its consequences.  Dave is a very wise man and has illustrated the different kinds of failure relevant to a work environment.  Here Dave defines a Noble Failure for a team or individual in the workplace:

• Performed a careful and thorough analysis of the opportunity;
• Prepared a thoughtful and comprehensive plan (including contingencies) to attack the opportunity;
• Was completely committed to the success of the venture and worked endless hours to make it succeed;
• Gathered the resources needed to do the job right;
• Effectively executed the plan and adjustments to the plan;
• Took personal accountability and went back and did a post mortem to maximize the learning from the failed effort.

According to Dave, if you did all 6 then and still did not achieve success or the desired outcome, then you have a Noble Failure.

This kind of failure doesn’t get you rewarded or promoted. But it doesn’t get you fired either. You aren’t penalized for taking the chance to do something bold. Arguably you are ahead of the game in that you are more valuable to the organization since you are now experienced at why innovation and change are hard to pull off.

What most bosses are unwilling to tolerate is Ignoble Failure.  Dave said the two problems with accepting just any failure is that you don’t know if the idea or the execution was wrong and you send a de-motivating message to the organization that sloppiness might be tolerated on something as important as change or innovation.

The lesson learned is to try your best, take a risk, and work hard with a plan, resources and personal accountability in all you do. If you fail then it is an honest and Noble Failure that nobody will fault you for and there will be valuables lessons to learn from. The Ignoble Failure is a tougher pill to swallow since the post mortem will show that the weakness comes from your lack of motivation, accountability, and work ethic. Both versions have valuable lessons but I prefer to fail nobly.