Keys to Success: Risk, Fail, Learn, Repeat

Sometimes new roles just don’t work out. But how do you know unless you try?

I’ve held many positions at several companies throughout my career. The lessons I’ve learned in various roles – both good and bad – have made me the leader I am today. And while some of my experiences were very hard and stressful to navigate, I would not change them.

Earlier in my career I worked 12 years at Ford and Visteon (Ford’s electronics spin-off.) I also spent a year at a technology start-up before joining Honeywell Aerospace 15 years ago. As I look back over my various roles in these companies, most of them were outstanding experiences but there were a few that could be considered failures.

In 2002, I took a big risk and moved my family from Michigan to Charlotte, North Carolina. I left the automotive industry to join a public fuel cell company as the Director of Operations. We uprooted ourselves, invested in a new home, worked to make new friends and tried to integrate ourselves into a new community. It was not easy but the job held real promise. I had done my due diligence and knew the company had plenty of cash to finance its operation for several years. Plus, my role to turn the technology into a product we could reliably build and sell to our customers was both challenging and interesting.

My calculated risk had all the makings of a positive decision. Unfortunately, the company was bought by another fuel cell organization and my career gamble with the technology start-up lasted just over a year. My family and I made the tough decision to move again, this time to Arizona for a job with Honeywell Aerospace. While I was very disappointed with the outcome of this venture, I realize without that “wrong” decision I might not have ended up where I am today!

Another incident that helped shape my career was when I took a role with a manager I did not know very well. After a very short time on his team I realized we had vastly different approaches to problem-solving. Although I worked extremely hard and delivered results, after a year this manager wasn’t satisfied with my performance. I had to find a new position - fast. The experience was gut-wrenching. I was shocked and disheartened. Thankfully, I was able to act quickly and find another position in the organization for a leader who I had a tremendous amount of respect for.