Here is an interesting article about talking about failure, particularly with respect to entrepreneurship. What struck me about the article was its comparisons between cultures about their views on talking about failure. (See Article). For example, the author notes that while in Silicon Valley, “[f]ailure has become almost a badge of pride — an experience recast as a lesson learned, a skin thickened, an entrepreneur seasoned and more fully prepared to succeed,” id., in other, developing, countries, failure “still carries a heavy stigma,” and “doesn’t make you stronger; failure makes you a failure.” Id. I had never considered this point of view before. Overall, a worthwhile read to give us some perspective on cross-cultural discussions around entrepreneurship.
And it isn’t just in developing nations. The Economist magazine has written extensively about how Europe does not view failure in the same positive light as Silicon Valley. In Germany, for example, entrepreneurs complain that there is so much pressure to succeed if you have taken investment; losing other people’s money is considered a real mark of shame.