V. Failure Is A Mode Of Learning

Certainly no one likes to make mistakes or to fail, but it is a natural part of the process. Making mistakes and learning from them makes us better the next time we are in a similar situation. Institutional knowledge is often learned the hard way through the blood, sweat, and tears of failure. This is perfectly normal and natural. Sometimes the best way to learn the right way to do something is to screw it up trying to do it the wrong way. Failure is only truly failure if we don’t take the opportunity to learn anything from it. This is why the process is so important.

Even when the result of our project fails to meet our expectations, we can learn from the processes that got us there. Analyze and reflect on your steps. What worked or didn’t work? What can be improved? When something didn’t work, why? What was the particular failure mode? Add all of this to your knowledge-base to draw upon in your next project. While you may have failed to deliver on your exact vision this time, you’ve succeeded in your growth as a maker and increased your likelihood of success next time.