One of the great things about our culture is that it’s ok to fail. What’s more important is the lesson learned from those failures. Loop is asking TCG seasoned vets to share a memorable moment from their career at TCG where they failed and used it as fuel to become better leaders.
We begin the series with our partner Ryan Ernst.
Ryan has a unique story. He first worked at TCG from February of 2011 to 2015 as the director of communications. He was rehired in 2016 as the director of Kids & Community Partners. Over his nearly 10 years with the company, Ryan says his most memorable failure with the company happened during his first fall – October of 2011.
What happened?
I was our director of communications – and not a particularly good one – I was in charge of doing a benefits seminar for our Dayton and Cincinnati associates. At the time, there were probably about 175 people. I planned an optional “benefits breakfast” for all of those associates at a banquet hall between the two cities. I had seating, food, drinks, and AV for 175 people, and only four associates showed up. And two of those people were me and my boss, partner Mike McQuiston. It was a huge failure.
Was someone in your corner motivating you? If so, what did they say?
When I got back from the event, Mike he asked to see me in his office. I thought for sure he was going to fire me. Instead, he pulled out a yellow legal pad and said, “So, let’s talk about what we could have done differently.”
What did you learn?
I learned a few things. I learned that events like that need to be mandatory. I learned that I was working for someone who was willing to coach and develop me. And I learned, probably most importantly, TCG was a place where you were allowed to fail fast and learn.
If you could go back to that failure and tell yourself something, what would it be?
Breathe.
Any advice for an associate going through a similar situation?
We believe in failure with a caveat. Failure is only ok if you’re going to use it to get better.