Boardroom Despatches: Fear of failure

Too often UK bosses are stigmatised when they fall short. But, again, we could learn a thing or two from what happens in the US, says Rene Carayol...

The shock resignation of Kingston Communications boss Steve Maine a couple of weeks ago got me thinking. He hadn't done a bad job. We all know about the successful flotation of the UK's 'other incumbent', up in Hull, and there were various contract wins coming in even through the lean times.

But Maine staked his reputation on the company's InBusiness unit, wanting the telco to be more than a local provider. In his own view, and clearly that of a few others at the top, he felt he had fallen on his sword and so tendered his resignation.

Should he have gone? In the UK we destroy those who fail - even those who do well but have just promised they could do slightly more.

The approach in North America and the UK is different. Here we hate mistakes and failure. We have a culture of fear.

We see it not just in business. How often do you sense a sports team is out 'not to lose' rather than to win? It's not a situation unique to the UK, nor does the US have a monopoly on 'giving it a go'.

Failure is a learning process. During the dot-com boom in the US, the VCs usually wanted someone with experience of failure to take over the reins at start-ups.

And look at the top 10 US companies. At least half of their CEOs have experienced business failure in the past. It's a badge of courage.

What happens in the UK? Take Freddie Laker, who pioneered low cost airline travel in the 1970s. Even a Rod Ayling, who had one bad year at BA and was then out. They are stigmatised.

The US is littered with examples of comebacks. Bill Clinton didn't stop trying, and 35 years ago Mohammed Ali was the most vilified man in that country. But he came back. He was living testament to the adage that: "You don't fail forever."

At this point, let's make sure we're differentiating between failure and theft. If you're talking about an Enron then fair enough - lock 'em up. That's not failure. It's breaking the law.

But when we have someone who is trying to build a proper business and it doesn't go well, let's not hold it against them forever. And we don't just castigate - we make sure individuals are struck off as directors.

Let's look to examples from the tech industry in the US we know so well. Don't think for a minute that top executives such as Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt haven't faced tough times. NeXT was no stroll in the park for the former and the latter couldn't turn around Novell. But now look at a revitalised Apple, iTunes and all, and Schmidt at the helm of next year's hottest IPO prospect - Google. The lessons are out there.

But let me leave on one slightly optimistic note. We may be worse with failure than the US but at least we're better than Japan. Over there, when it all goes wrong, one long accepted approach is top yourself.

Rene Carayol is a former IT director and board member of IPC Media. He is now the CEO of consultancy Voodoo and co-author of the best-selling Corporate Voodoo and My Voodoo. He can be contacted at rene@carayol.com.