Failure Sucks But Instructs

Homer is right. The only way to avoid failure is to do nothing. But failure has virtues, and is probably impossible to avoid (Indeed, doing nothing is a form of failure too).

There is no learning without failure. No creativity without failure. That is why Jeff Pfeffer and I argue that the best single diagnostic question you can ask about an organization is: What Happens When People Fail? As research on creativity and learning shows (see this story on the “July effect” in study by Robert Huckman and Jason Barro of 700 hospitals over 8 years – mortality rates went up 4% when the new residents came in), it is impossible to do anything new or learn anything new without making mistakes.

There is a silver lining, however, although it hurts, there is evidence that people think more deeply and learn more after a failure than a success.

Homer might not like the thinking part.

Failure Sucks But Instructs