In the world of entrepreneurshipstartups that succeed get the lion's share of attention. But I argue that there is more to learn from failed ventures. Accepting failure and learning from it increases the likelihood of future success.

My students at Babson College, where I am an associate professor of entrepreneurship, have nicknamed me “The failure of Drthanks to a course I teach called “Failure is Good.” As counterintuitive as it may sound, I urge students to embrace failure as an important source of knowledge and skills.

Here are four pieces of wisdom I've learned through my research and work with startup leaders about using failure to promote future success.

Related: 6 things you gain by embracing failure and learning from mistakes

1. Start ventures with a conversation about acceptable loss

I encourage startup teams to hold a “pre-mortem” before or immediately after launch. An alternative to a post-mortem, a pre-mortem is a thought experiment that gives you the opportunity to talk openly and honestly about what's likely. kill your business. Decide how you define “failure” and what you consider an acceptable loss. List the signs that the business is moving in that direction.

This exercise creates useful awareness. In my experience, the more proactive teams are about failure, the less likely they are to fail. But I must offer this caveat: If your company's culture is particularly conservative and risk-averse, use premortem with caution. I've seen some companies so scared of potential failure that they abandon a venture before it even gets started.

2. Draw from the mistakes of others

Most startup failures are the result of three types of mistakes, which I group under the acronym TIM. This stands for:

• Errors related to talentincluding hiring the “bad apple”. Hiring decisions are usually based on other people's recommendations, but I advise only listening to those who have actually worked with the individual in the past.
• Wrong IDEASsuch as failing to validate the claim before investing resources, the infamous “no-problem solution.”
• Errors in BEFORE, as an over-reliance on earned income, without enough money. It's true: Cash IS king!

3. Be smart about your failures

Entrepreneurs vary in their ability to do so learn from their mistakes. My research shows that what leaders see as the cause of their failure affects their ability to recover and succeed next time. For example, do they blame their own choices or external factors outside of themselves?

I studied a group of more than 200 startup founders in Japan and found that those who focused on their role failed—asking questions like, “What could I have done better?” — were more likely to experience growth in subsequent ventures than people who blamed external forces.

Of course, many failures have a mix of causes, both internal and external – but entrepreneurs who start by exploring their mistakes tend to learn more from them and move on to greater success. It's important to add a caveat here: By focusing primarily on your mistakes, an entrepreneur only benefits from his first two failures. After the third time and beyond, those who find external causes to blame do better, partly because it preserves their own self-efficacy and confidence as an entrepreneur.

Related: Why failure is crucial to finding your true purpose

4. Promote acceptance of failure

Develop a healthy attitude towards failure and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Try not to wallow in shame. Failure is an event, not a reflection of your worth.

I tell my students and clients that failure is always worth it if they are determined to learn from their mistakes. I encourage them to look for a high ROL, or “return on learning,” from every venture and ask them to share their MVF, or most valuable failure.

Some leaders will accept nothing less than complete success, but I argue that everyone benefits from increased tolerance for failure. Do you want your teammates to hide their mistakes or would you rather they report and discuss them openly so that everyone can improve?

Failure tolerance it is also useful outside the workplace. Founder of Spanx Sarah Blakely famously shared that when she and her brother were children, their father would ask them, “What have you failed this week?” Blakely says it made her open to trying new things and less afraid of taking risks. I, too, try to normalize mistakes as a normal part of life, and I love hearing from students and clients who now do the same.

The ability to accept and learn from failures not only increases your chances of making smart business decisions for your company, but also increases your value to coworkers and future employers. Indeed, several of my former students have failed in their first entrepreneurial ventures. But their intelligent analysis of what went wrong, as well as the thicker skin and confidence gained from overcoming adversity, has helped them land jobs with tech giants like Google and Apple or launch promising new companies of their own. .