Let’s be real: if you’re building something meaningful — especially a business — you will screw things up. Not maybe. Definitely.

The question isn’t if you’ll mess up.
It’s what you do after that matters most.

Because it’s not the mistake that kills momentum.
It’s how you react to it.

Trust me — I’ve taken more wrong turns than I care to admit. Some of them made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

But the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in business haven’t come from the wins. They’ve come from the failures — and what happened next.

Here’s what that looks like:

1️⃣ Spot the mistake. Quickly.
When we launched a campaign called ‘Pink IPA’ to spotlight the gender pay gap, it missed the mark. Badly. The satire didn’t land — and that was on us. But because we picked up the backlash instantly, we had time to explain, clarify, and own it.

The faster you acknowledge the problem, the sooner you can fix it.

2️⃣ Take ownership. Fully.
When a legal team we worked with filed against a small business called ‘Lone Wolf’, we realised the mistake too late. But I didn’t blame the lawyers — I pulled the plug myself, took full responsibility, and made sure their legal costs were covered.

Leadership isn’t about avoiding the fire. It’s about standing in it when it counts.

3️⃣ Don’t run from the pain — learn from it.
We once poured time, energy, and money into launching a sour beer brand. The market didn’t want it. It flopped. Big lesson? Back to the drawing board. Smaller scale. Sharper focus. Forward motion.

Pain isn’t pleasant — but it teaches better than comfort ever will.

4️⃣ Change direction — fast.
Too many companies collapse because they can’t pivot in time. Blockbuster. Woolworths. Toys R Us. They ignored the signals. Clung to old thinking.

The market moves — and you either move with it or get left behind.

Here’s the truth: failure, missteps, disasters — they’re not just inevitable. They’re valuable.

Every great founder has a catalogue of errors.
Bezos lost billions. Musk lost rockets. Branson lost businesses.

But they didn’t lose momentum.

Why? Because they learned. They adapted. They moved forward.

And that’s the secret: own your mistakes. Learn from them. Let them shape your next move.

The biggest advantage in business? Being brave enough to mess up — and still grow.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve ever learned from failure? Visit me on Linkedin: