“QUITTING, SUCKING, andfailing

your way to a better life”Michael Wolfewww.michaelrwolfe.com@michaelrwolfe

FIRST, ABOUT ME I am a QUITTER I sometimes SUCK I often FAIL

1. MY JOURNEY

2. WHY IS FAILURE SO HARD

TO ACCEPT?

3. WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

4. WHAT CAN YOU DO?

MY JOURNEY

AVOIDfailure

ACCEPTfailure

EMBRACE

My Career Four startups and a few bigcompanies Several roles (CEO,Engineering, Product) Advising and mentoring Full of quit, suck and fail

QUITTING I quit several good jobs Several businesses pivoted I shut one company down

SUCKING I was a mediocre student My teams and I always in overour heads Lack of resources

FAILING They all had a highprobability of failure One did fail Several failed products

RESULT One IPO, two acquisitions Very rapid learning Great times, amazing teams Maintained family life, sports,travel, sabbaticals

Why is quitting, sucking, andfailing so hard?

OUR MENTAL MODEL of theworld

KNOWN PROBLEMS DEFINED CRITERIA CLEAR AUTHORITY

CHILDHOOD

KNOWN PROBLEMSBe good, sit up straight, do yourchores DEFINED CRITERIAPraise, rewards CLEAR AUTHORITYParents

SCHOOL

KNOWN PROBLEMSMath, reading, writing, language DEFINED CRITERIARight and wrong answers ,grades CLEAR AUTHORITYTeachers

WORK

KNOWN PROBLEMSWell-understood customers,products, processes DEFINED CRITERIADeadlines, quotas CLEAR AUTHORITYBosses

SOMETIMES THIS is the rightmodel

I don’t want these folks toQUIT, SUCK, and FAIL

BUT IT DOES NOT WORK FORINNOVATION

Customer, product, market are unknown

Solutions are found through trial and error

Companies are understaffed, unfunded, full ofinexperienced folks

Most of them fail, but winners are huge

Let’s test IT

Quit school, quit jobs Poor management skills atfirst Many failed projects Near-death experiences

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?

GO to failcon

Done! √

PLEASE JUST STOP THIS

“That seems likesuch a time waster”

“That will neverwork”

“No company willtrust that”

“That team has noexperience”

Being wrong will destroy your business and career

“LIVE in the future”Ubiquitous mobile devices

Cheap tabletsRobotics and 3D printing

Fracking and cheap energyDecline of retail

Online universitiesRemote labor pools

Self driving cars

These things are happening whether you like it ornow – what are you doing about it?

EMBRACE YOUTHIf you are young, jump in – don’t wait

Give young people real authority and power

No “paying your dues”

FIND a way to quit, suck, and failTry something hard, risky, and scary Encourage others who do the same Seek “career security” not “job security”

QueSTIONS?

Michael Wolfewww.michaelrwolfe.com@michaelrwolfe