“It’s ok to fail.”

I was struck when my French friend told me this over coffee in Palo Alto. We had been talking about her husband’s startup company—he was trying to raise new capital, and if he didn’t succeed his company would soon run out of money.

“It must be stressful,” I said, “not knowing if he’ll be able to keep his company alive.”

“Yes,” she said, “but we’ll be ok if it doesn’t work out. One of the things I’ve learned from living in the United States is that it’s ok to fail. That’s not true in France. There, if you fail you have a black mark that follows you forever.”

Are the French too conservative? Or is it more that they cherish and protect their heritage?

I share my thoughts on the subject in France Today!