How This Entrepreneur Got Ahead by Screwing Up Often catastrophes are not only salvageable but they can lead to some of the most valuable client relationships you'll have.

There's a saying among pilots about certain types of human error: "There are those who have, and those who will." Starting and building a business is much the same -- no matter how good you are, how hard you try or even how much you care, sooner or later you're going to get it completely and horrifyingly wrong. The good news is that, at least some of the time, and more often than you might think, these catastrophes are not only salvageable but can lead to some of the most valuable client relationships you'll have.

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I am the co-founder of a talent management software company that has grown by nearly 300 percent over the past several years. A while back, I was asked to join one of my account managers and her manager on a client call. This was a common enough occurrence when the company was based out of my apartment, but now, closing in on 100 employees and 2,100 companies using our products, such a request meant only one thing: bad news. As I sat down in a high-rise conference room with a commanding view of Boston, I expected the worst.