I like the general point of this article, but I wanted to point out that I don't think you necessarily learn any more or less from failing than you do from succeeding at something. Successes also require a shit-ton of critical thought because they rarely remain successes forever: There's always the next level of growth, the change in the market, the young competitor, etc. And I've found that oftentimes people don't have time to analyze their failures completely -- they've got to get moving on their next project or gig that will pay the bills. And sometimes it just hurts to think about failures. So people don't...
As for people who don't want to talk about failures because it damages their "personal brand..." First, always be careful around people too interested in their "personal brand." You'll sometimes find quite a bit of bullshit, misdirection, and borderline lies coming out of those people's mouths. Not always. But often enough. Second, if you've honestly learned from your experience, there's no need to be shy about talking about it. I mean, I understand not wanting to broadcast failures at the top of your resume, but being able to say something like: "Four years ago I founded a start-up that focussed on building custom public space games for brands -- we failed to land enough clients to survive the long-run, but I learned a tremendous amount about how interactive media can work in public spaces and I have great business contacts in the industry who loved our work despite it being too expensive for them or too difficult to communicate up their corporate ladder." Or whatever. That demonstrates that you failed well and would be a great potential asset at your next job or start-up.
Article is blocked here at work, apparently our filter thinks it's a gambling site.
don't think you necessarily learn any more or less from failing than you do from succeeding
You learn by finding that reality doesn't match your model, and exploring the reasons for this. If you expected to succeed, then success won't teach you much. If you "failed" and had to correct 20 times on the way to success, those intermediate failures are where the learning comes from.
As for people who don't want to talk about failures because it damages their "personal brand..." First, always be careful around people too interested in their "personal brand." You'll sometimes find quite a bit of bullshit, misdirection, and borderline lies coming out of those people's mouths. Not always. But often enough. Second, if you've honestly learned from your experience, there's no need to be shy about talking about it. I mean, I understand not wanting to broadcast failures at the top of your resume, but being able to say something like: "Four years ago I founded a start-up that focussed on building custom public space games for brands -- we failed to land enough clients to survive the long-run, but I learned a tremendous amount about how interactive media can work in public spaces and I have great business contacts in the industry who loved our work despite it being too expensive for them or too difficult to communicate up their corporate ladder." Or whatever. That demonstrates that you failed well and would be a great potential asset at your next job or start-up.