On Friday I blogged about two of my personal mistakes at Rockfish and the lessons I learned from them.  I used the word “failures," but in reality a person can only fail if they don’t learn something that makes them better.  In fact, failure can actually be a good thing because it causes you to refocus.  If we are not failing at Rockfish then we are not trying new things that continue to push us to get better.  Theodore Roosevelt said, "The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
 
At 67 years old Thomas Edison’s entire laboratory went up in flames.  Most people would have thrown in the towel at that age after that kind of tragedy.  Edison taught his son that “there is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew."  Then three weeks later he goes on to deliver the first phonograph.  Some of the greatest offensive players in baseball (Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson for example), also led the majors in strikeouts.  Charles Goodyear spent his entire life experimenting with rubber, eventually creating a process that would ensure it wouldn’t become brittle in the cold and melt in the heat.  He died in debt.  Most at his funeral would have considered his life a failure.  Today nearly 300,000 Americans earn their livelihoods in rubber manufacturing which this year will produce $6 billion worth of products. The whole huge apparatus owes its existence to the invincible little fanatic who might have died a bitter man, but didn't.  "Life," he wrote, "should not be estimated exclusively by the standard of dollars and cents. I am not disposed to complain that I have planted and others have gathered the fruits. A man has cause for regret only when he sows and no one reaps."

Let me give you two reasons why the failed attempt at running a traditional advertising agency as part of Rockfish was, in the big picture, not a failure at all:

1.  Silver Joe’s Coffee was created.  Our Creative Director at the time, Cameron Clement, is one of the most talented brand developers that I have ever met (view his site here).  He had a passion for creating a coffee brand that would appeal to outdoor enthusiasts.  Why not?  Silver Joe’s was spun-off into its own company and has been growing ever since.  This week the first Silver Joe’s store was opened in Tokyo (see photo above) with 8 more planned for this year.  How cool is that!


2. Meeting Steve Clark.  I met Steve in the very early days of starting Rockfish.  Steve had recently purchased an advertising agency.  I was starting an interactive agency.  We both liked the idea of having a full-service agency.  We decided to merge the companies.  Even though the advertising agency portion of Rockfish didn’t take off like we had hoped, partnering with Steve was absolutely the right thing to do.  Steve has become one of my best friends and mentors.  Much of our success at Rockfish can be attributed to his involvement in the company.