Any CEO, company president or business owner is not going to be right all of the time. 

Successful CEOs, presidents and business owners are right more often than they are wrong.  If they weren’t they couldn’t stay in business.  But on any given day, at any given hour, at any given moment, business leaders can make a decision that is counterproductive to what they were trying to accomplish. 

True success means that if you make a wrong business decision; and you are able to see that the decision was wrong, correct your mistake and bounce back from it you will see even better business results in the future.

Here is a classic example:  It’s Super Bowl week in Tampa.  Being born and raised in Pittsburgh, even though I am now living in South Florida, I am still a Steeler fan and part of, what is known as, the Steeler Nation. 

So think about this:  The football season following the Steelers last Super Bowl win in Detroit, the Steelers star quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in Pittsburgh.  He had been riding in the city without a helmet.  Big Ben’s life was actually in danger and thanks to the paramedics, they saved his life.  The miracle continued with Ben as he was back playing football in a few shorts weeks.  He is not only physically tough but mentally tough.  And has a true love of the game. 

Fast forward and a few weeks later, Ben undergoes an emergency appendix operation.  Yet, once again, he was back on the playing field within a couple of weeks.   He didn’t play Super Bowl caliber football that year but he wasn’t going to let a little thing like near death or an appendix operation stop him from doing his job. 

And just this season, with the Steelers having the most difficult play schedule in the NFL, and Ben once again getting injured with a spinal cord concussion and numerous other injuries, let alone getting continuously sacked by 350 lb. linemen on the opposing teams, it still hasn’t stopped him. 

A couple of years ago, Ben made some bad choices when riding the motorcycle that could have cost him his life.  But he corrected his mistakes along the way, continued to perfect his game and this weekend, Ben will be back playing in the Super Bowl.

There may be very bad business decisions that you as the CEO, company president or business owner feel you can’t recover from.  You have to be physically tough to take the stress that comes with running a business.  But more importantly, you have to be mentally tough to take what comes your way each business day.  Having an open mind is essential. 

So when life seems like it is throwing you insurmountable business problems just think about how the truly successful business people recover from whatever life throws their way.

To illustrate this further, Guy Kawasaki’s blog post entitled, Failure Is the New Success, on the January 25^th edition of the American Express (AMEX) Open Forum for business people, features a video from Honda.  The topic: How failure can bring success.  This video is a must see for all CEOs, company presidents and business owners; as well as anyone who is seeking success in their lives.  It is well worth your time. 

The Honda video can also be found on YouTube, entitled: Failure: The Secret To Success.

Go Steelers!