Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The alternative to failure

How many times did I fail at making gnocchi dough before it came out right?

The answer really doesn't matter, the point is that I failed the first few times before getting it right. Each failure was a lesson, but most people don't really look at it that way. In fact, let's scratch out the word failure.

Failure is a bad word. A lot of writing these days has been devoted to reinventing the way we look at failure, though perhaps the use of the word itself is the source of the problem. Next time you find yourself using the word failure, replace it with something else.

Here are some suggestions (some are made up): I explored, I insighted, I poked, I learned, I experimented...



(by the way the answer is 2)
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1 comment:

  1. Nollind WhachellMarch 30, 2011 at 10:14 AM

    "Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition, there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes." - George Soros

    Actually the biggest failure of our society today is the lack of recognizing failure which again is critical to learning, evolving, and, most importantly, relationship building. Look at what most corporate companies do when they make a mistake. They ignore and hide it, even if their customers are clearly evident to it. This is the most idiotic thing you can do because sustainable long term relationships require both sides to be open, honest, and authentic. If they aren't then they are usually doomed to failure themselves.

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