1 Quote, 1 Truth, 1 Action

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas A. Edison

The Season of Fails

Before becoming one of the most successful authors in history, J.K. Rowling faced repeated difficulties. As a single mother living on welfare in Edinburgh, Scotland, Rowling occasionally struggled with depression as she attempted to make ends meet. Meanwhile, she continued working on her project, the first Harry Potter book, in cafes with her baby alongside her. 12 publishers rejected her, and one told her that children’s books don’t make money.

By most people’s standards, she was considered a failure.

But failing does not define a person. We know that Rowling went on to change the world and created an entire sub culture with her mystical creation.

The world’s most successful creators and producers did not arrive on a win on the first go around. There were many repetitions involved. The breakthroughs occurred from some combination of trial and error, happenstance and opportunity.

Celebrate Failure

If you lead a team, I encourage you to make regular time to celebrate failures. Start the meeting by talking about what did not go right and the lesson you learned. Failure need not be taboo. It happens. And as it is happening in your team, company, class or group, discussing it brings with it the lessons, the sense that failure is not just normal but expected.

For the best leaders, teams and organizations, failure is a sign that you are onto something, that you are closer to the solution, the breakthrough, the creation that moves your mission forward.

Think about it this way: if you are not failing, you are playing it too safe…

Embrace….no, celebrate failures.

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