IT Manager Question:

This question is really just the opposite of your definition of success. What does failure mean to you and how do you know you have failed within a given time frame. Keep in mind that failure is just a perspective.
For starters, failure is an event and not a person and you only fail if you quit and I'm not a quitter. I may not complete a project on time or miss an important deadline, but that does not qualify as having failed in my book. If I complete a task, but miss a deadline, I still consider it a success because I finished, but without the desired result.