Dean Voakes, the University of Colorado School of Journalism and Mass Communication faculty, proud parents and, most of all, graduates. Thank you. It is a privilege to be here today with you, on this important day.
When Amber Klein first asked me to be here today, I was incredibly humbled. While I have a chance to speak regularly, today’s commencement address comes with a great responsibility. As I wrote this address, I was quite nervous while I tried to craft something profound enough to be inspirational and useful as you embark on your life’s journey. That was until I realized that not only could I not remember any of the details of the commencement speech at my graduation but, embarrassingly, I couldn’t even remember who spoke. That seemed to take a bit of the pressure off and make the task feel a bit more human.
At best, I’d like to share with you some of the things I’ve learned and offer some perspective as a fellow traveler on a journey through life. First, I must tell you that I’m jealous. You are graduating in such interesting times, times that are full of disruption and uncertainty. You are blessed.
I feel lucky, as well. I’ve had the opportunity in my career to benefit from several disruptions. First, the rise of desktop publishing allowed me to start a small publishing company. Without the revolution that Apple started with the Macintosh, along with Quark and Adobe’s help, I would have never been able to afford to go into the magazine publishing business. Likewise, the rise of other digital technologies allowed me to build Radar Communications, by combining the worlds of anthropology and journalism to provide a new way to do brand strategy and market research. And now my latest venture, Victors & Spoils, wouldn’t even be possible without the communities of talented people that are aggregating online.
Let’s look back. Not long ago, the journalism, media and advertising industries were the places to be. Graduates would move to New York to start on the long, hard journey of finding a place in these glorious industries. Rising to the top once meant acquiring more prestige, money and power than almost any other industry could afford. While these industries now survive on the fumes of their once glorious past as they are affected by the democratization of the Internet with its deflationary pressures and the economic realities of the recent financial crisis. These once gilded industries are being attacked not only by the usual competitors but also, more unexpectedly, by their customers. Blogs and Social Media, including Facebook and Twitter, have exerted even more pressure on the media and advertising industries. Now, everyone has the ability to compete with the media, publishing their own news, serving their own audiences and creating their own advertising.
While this digital disruption might seem like a new and frightening trend, I always draw comfort from history. During the Renaissance, in the middle of the 15th century, there was a similar disruption happening that was shaking the pillars of the then current media world. The methodology of using movable type on a printing press, developed by Johannes Guttenberg, was spreading like wildfire, making books more accessible throughout Europe, allowing a whole new generation to have the tools that only a few held. At the time, books were produced by an elite group of monks in a few monasteries. These scribes were the media elite of their day. As it became more obvious that the new disruptive technological changes produced by the printing press some felt the need to turn the page back. In 1492, Johannes Trithemius, the Abbot of Sponheim, a well-known monastery, wrote, In Praise of Scribes. In it he wrote, “We must preserve the old order at any cost.” Yet, he had a problem. If he used scribes to produce the book it might take too long to stop the tide of the disruption caused by the printing press. Instead, he used a Guttenberg press to print In Praise of Scribes, only accelerating the change.
So, here we are in the winter of 2009. While many people have been calling our age the Great Recession, I agree more with Thomas Friedman, who has begun calling this time the Great Inflection. It is a time of unprecedented change, innovation and opportunity. You in this room have the opportunity to redefine journalism and mass communications on your own terms, once again revolutionizing the industry.
So, where do you start? As you walk out the door today I have only one piece of advice. Dare to fail. Seems odd, doesn’t it? Almost scary. Nobody really wants to fail. We’re here to celebrate success today.
I must admit, that I’ve been afraid to fail for much of my career. I’ve gotten stuck trying too hard to succeed. Instead, I now focus on failing. My main inspiration for this change of attitude comes from two sports I love, climbing and surfing. In both, success is often elusive. When trying to surf a new break or climb a new line, failure is a given. You’re ability to succeed is built upon how well you fail. Do you make original mistakes? Do you fail giving everything to the task at hand? Do you shake off the failure to jump back up and immediately try again? Does failure make you try even harder? Does failure teach you something new? I’ve learned that how you react to failure defines who you are.
The same goes in business. Today, what defines the most innovative, and the most successful, people is their willingness to fail. And, that’s especially true in journalism, media and advertising. They’re the ones that build iPhone apps over a weekend, when they’ve never written code before. Or, passionately challenge the media powers that be on their blogs. They become their own media channels on Twitter with thousands of followers. Or, become the mayor of a half dozen spots on Four Square. They can have a conversation with their friends while at the same time, developing new business strategies that the rest of us will follow.
In the Great Inflection, so much is new. New ways to work. New ways to communicate. It is scary and full of failure. Yet, it’s full of opportunity, as well. Recently, I was speaking at a marketing class here at CU. One of your fellow students, Kevin Dolan, introduced himself after the class. Kevin talked about the advertising industry with amazing depth and acuity, understanding not only the recent changes that have occurred but also what the future might hold. I was impressed. Yet, I was even more impressed a couple of weeks later when he sent me some photos of a pair of skis that were produced by a company that he had started. He mentioned that while the company had failed, he had learned a great deal. He was excited.
This is the key to the future for all of us. It’s not how we deal with success but how we embrace and learn from failure that will define all of us during the Great Inflection.
Today, as you start your journey I know that many of you have the burden of high expectations on your shoulders. Let go of them.
Instead, dare to fail. Fail fast. Learn from failure. Build on failure. Share failure. Understand failure.
Most of all, enjoy failure. Life is so short. Hold nothing back.
Good luck.
Thank you.
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