Let’s redefine failure

by | Accountability, Creativity, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Resources, Tools

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 28 seconds.

EntreGurus-Book-Black Box Thinking-Matthew SyedTODAY’S IDEA: Let’s redefine failure

From Black Box Thinking: Why Most People Never Learn from Their Mistakes–But Some Do by Matthew Syed

We’ve all failed at something at some point. It’s not a happy day when that happens. It’s a mad scramble as we watch our project go down in proverbial flames. The memory of it is not a happy one either and, usually, we try to avoid bringing it up again, right? Ugh!

Matthew Syed in his book Black Box Thinking, says there is a better way: “If we wish to fulfill our potential as individuals and organizations, we must redefine failure.”

“We learn from our mistakes, it is as simple and as difficult as that. […] Sometimes committing errors is not only the fastest way to the correct answer, it’s the only way.” This is, obviously, easier said than done. The key is not in the procedures but in changing the attitude towards error that liberates individuals and organizations from the “twin dangers of blame and cognitive dissonance,” which is the default mode when things don’t go well.

James Dyson, the inventor of the famous Dyson vacuum cleaner went through 5,127 prototypes (!) before his technology was ready. As tragic as airline accidents can be, the findings are quickly applied and transformed into new rules for all aviation personnel in the world to avoid the same mistakes. (Read more in this book summary by Samie Al-Achrafi.)

Heather Hanbury, former headmistress of Wimbledon High School in London, created “Failure Week” after she saw her students doing well academically but struggling to reach their potential outside the classroom. The rigidity of the school system punishing mistakes was stagnating the students in other areas of their life. She said to Syed, “You’re not born with fear of failure, it’s not an instinct. It’s something that grows and develops in you as you get older. Very young children have no fear of failure at all, they have great fun trying new things and learning very fast.”

How can we, then, unlearn and redefine this acquired fear of failure? A trite—but illustrative—example that comes to mind is the one coaches sometimes use to exemplify why we should not give up: think of an adorable baby girl who is starting to learn how to walk. Would you give up on her simply because she falls constantly? Would you throw your hands up in the air in frustration and blame it all on gravity? The mere thought of it is ridiculous. However, we sometimes do this (metaphorically-speaking) to ourselves and to our projects.

Here are some questions and a few posts to help you redefine and reframe for yourself:

  • How many times have we given up on something that we’ve considered a failure without giving it a fair chance? (Read: Move forward imperfectly.)
  • How many times have we found the process frustrating as opposed to making the most out of it? (Read: Why 5 Times.)
  • How many times do we bury as deep as we can within ourselves whatever happened, and waste the opportunity to learn from it? (Read: You are not your past.)

And I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from T. Harv Eker:

“Every master was once a disaster.”

ACTION:

TODAY: You are the only one who knows yourself best and who can redefine failure for you. What steps can you take today to reframe a recent “failure,” so that you can make space for the new learnings? Even in the worst of situations there’s always a positive thing if you know where to look. How about focusing on that? It may look like “Where’s Waldo?” at first, but don’t give up. This simple process will help you reframe and redefine!

FUTURE: As much as it’s uncomfortable to accept, there is no way we can avoid making mistakes in the future. So let’s reframe that too: instead of keeping our fingers crossed and holding our breath “so that nothing goes wrong,” how about trusting in our ability and willingness to be able to gather the information and resources to solve the mistakes to the best of our ability if and when they happen? Ah, what a relief that thought brings!

Know someone who could use some help redefining failure? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!

You don’t have to be a genius to be part of a scenius

by | Collaboration, Creativity, Mindset, Opportunity

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 5 seconds.

EntreGurus-Book-Show Your Work-Austin KleonTODAY’S IDEA:

The lone genius myth is not true, it’s about collaboration.
— From Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon (here’s a summary of the book)

As a society we’re enamored with many myths, and one of them is the one of the “lone genius.” Austin Kleon says that seeing creativity under such light portrays it as “an antisocial act, performed by only a few great figures, mostly dead men with names like Mozart, Einstein or Picasso. The rest of us are left to stand around and gawk in awe at their achievements.”

Instead, Kleon points to the way in which the renowned English musician Brian Eno views creativity as a scenius: “a whole scene of people who [are] supporting each other, looking at each other’s work, copying from each other, stealing ideas and contributing ideas.”  A scenius is a model under which “great ideas are often birthed by a group of creative individuals—artists, curators, thinkers, theorists, and other tastemakers—who make up an ‘ecology of talent’.”

“ A scenius doesn’t take away from the achievements of those individuals; it just acknowledges that good work isn’t created in a vacuum, and that creativity is always, in some sense, a collaboration, the results of a mind connected to other minds.”

The beauty of a scenius then, is twofold:

  1. It opens the door for the rest of us: “the people who don’t consider ourselves geniuses” and for whom art and creativity takes many different expressions than in its purest, most widely adopted sense. I’m subscribing here to Seth Godin’s description of art in his book The Icarus Deception: “Art is not a gene or a specific talent. Art is an attitude, culturally driven and available to anyone who chooses to adopt it. Art isn’t something sold in a gallery or performed on a stage. Art is the unique work of a human being, work that touches another. […] Seizing new ground, making connections between people or ideas, working without a map— these are works of art, and if you do them, you are an artist, regardless of whether you wear a smock, use a computer, or work with others all day long.”
  2. You don’t have to be a genius to be part of a scenius. To be a valued member of a scenius is not about your intelligence and talent, the school you went to, or who your parents are. It’s about your valuable contribution to the community (ideas, connections, conversations, and elevating the art form, whatever this form may be in your particular scenius).

Thankfully, we live in a time where the Internet provides lots of sceniuses where we can all contribute to something that we care about. There’s plenty of opportunity and no barrier to entry. So, what scenius will you pick and what will your contribution be? Let me know in the comments.

ACTION

TODAY: Where is your scenius? What tribe would you like to belong to? Identify where your scene is (whether in person or virtually) and make connect and contribute something today if possible (an idea, a comment, feedback, etc.). If not, schedule in your calendar when you can start contributing, and do so.

FUTURE: Now that you’ve found your scenius, take a look around. Where and what is the most valuable contribution that you can make with the resources that you have? Think: time, knowledge, resources, connections, etc. May sound trite but it’s true: you always get out what you put into it, so give it your best. If you’re hesitant about making a commitment because it seems daunting, give yourself a trial time to see if it’s a good fit. Contribute to a scenius for, say, 3-6 months and see what happens. One way or another, I’m sure you’ll be all the better for it afterwards.

Enjoyed the post? I hope so! Please share these ideas with more people via email, Facebook or Twitter — thanks a lot!