How can you learn from your failures when experimenting with new ideas?

In the world of innovation, failure is a compass, not a dead end. It teaches us what doesn't work and paves the way for what does. Transparency and collective analysis of setbacks strengthen teams. Reflecting on failure leads to progress, not stagnation. It's not the destination but part of the journey. Embrace it; in failures lie resilience, growth, and the path to success.

In the world of Agile, there is a famous saying - Fail Fast, learn fast, fail better, learn better! As Pamela Myers in her book Agility Shift famously said “the most important aspects of agility—the ability to make an intentional shift in order to be effective in changing contexts.” Progress and success in the VUCA world requires an intentional learning approach!

The old hackneyed adage "Failures are the pillars of success" is very valid in the modern context. Failure is an opportunity to reset your skill set, review your networks, restart your thought processes , perhaps moving in new directions. It could also be opportunity to move out of your comfort zone to an area which may initially seem more challenging but may present more opportunity.

Learning from failures is crucial for personal growth and innovation. Acknowledging and owning failures as learning opportunities is essential. Analyzing mistakes and seeking feedback from diverse sources can provide valuable insights for iteration and adaptation. Maintaining an open mindset and learning from others' failures is crucial. Documenting the experimentation process, celebrating small wins, and cultivating a growth mindset can aid in learning. Gradual progress and determination are essential, and continuous experimentation is crucial in a constantly changing world. In summary, learning from failures is a continuous, multifaceted process leading to personal development and innovation.

Failures need to openly discussed and that needs to be from the top down. CEOs have to lead by discussing what they have learnt or what changed. Negative leadership will lead to decisions not being made. You have to make sure the discussion is that is not about was it a bad decision. Obviously at the time it seemed like the right decision. Concentrate on “why did the decision to do x look good then, and what has changed or been learnt since then” As a leader, be open with examples from your past or if you were part of the decision be honest about it.

Here is some steps to use a fishbone diagram for failure analysis: 1. Define the problem. 2. Draw the diagram with a central problem box and category lines. 3. Brainstorm and list potential causes along each category line. 4. Analyze causes, looking for connections and dependencies. 5. Dig deeper by asking "why" for each cause to uncover root causes. 6. Prioritize causes based on impact and likelihood. 7. Identify solutions for each cause. 8. Implement corrective actions based on the solutions. 9. Monitor progress and ensure effective execution. The fishbone diagram helps identify causes, understand the failure, and develop targeted solutions to prevent future problems.

Having a Goal with specific objectives and steps to achieve them will help evaluate failures or mistakes, you can then improve upon the steps taken, review them, review the objectives, and even the goal to analyze and understand where it went wrong.

In my experience, when a team come together to reflect over an experience (specially when there are failures) it is paramount to create a safe space for sharing and a clear goal: Find the learnings, and embrace the new opportunities that will lead the team for the next level. Appreciation for what went well always balance this kind of review. I prefer to do this at the end, closing with a positive note, boosting the next steps.

Always plan a project with measurable goals and targets. Measures can be a mix a quantitative and qualitative indicators. Try to think what you’d like to show to key stakeholders 1+ years out and what data and processes you’ll need in place to be able to make that happen. Over time, you’ll be able to identify trends and resound proactively, and identify process improvements and opportunities for internal, enterprise-level research.

I agree that when experimenting with new ideas, having a clear and measurable goal, a hypothesis, and a method to test it is essential for objective evaluation. Gathering feedback from various sources, such as customers, stakeholders, and peers, provides diverse perspectives and helps avoid confirmation bias. Tools like the 5 Whys, Fishbone Diagram, or Learning Loop can aid in analyzing failures objectively, identifying root causes, and extracting key learnings for future improvements. Overall, this approach promotes a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

Running a Retro after you experiment with a new idea is a crucial part of the test and learn process. If you get into the habit of running retros after each experiment, you and your team will know that there will be actionable improvements for the next iteration. This also gives you a document to reference back to as you plan for your next experiment.

The most important thing is that you get started. It is easy to procrastinate. While tools help, and create a platform for analysis, the desire to change matters!

There is always a good scope of learning in the event of failure. It provides the opportunity to brainstorm the practice adopted and action plan made. It also make us aware about the new technology or set of skills required. We may find knowledge or information about upcoming or changing trend.

To get started on the path to improvement, try doing a post-mortem with your team after every important project you complete. One of the easiest ways we do this is using the "I Like - I Wish - I Wonder" method to gain valuable feedback from the team.

Integrate a "Lessons Learned Repository" into your team's workflow. This could be a shared document or a more complex knowledge management system, but its purpose remains the same: to be a living document where you catalogue the findings from each failed experiment, successful project, or any significant experience. Include what the initial hypotheses were, the methodologies employed, data collected, and the key takeaways. Encourage team members to consult and contribute to the repository regularly. This acts as both a knowledge base for onboarding new members and a 'sanity check' for new experiments, helping to ensure past mistakes aren't repeated.

When something doesn't go as expected, that doesn't mean it is a failure. Many are afraid to try something because of the stigma of failing. Building a culture where failing, testing and learning, proof of concept, etc. is the norm will lead to more innovation. As a leader, sharing examples of when things didn't go as planned and how you overcame it or pivoted can be extremely humanizing and inspirational.

Learning from failures when experimenting with new ideas involves adopting a growth mindset and viewing setbacks as opportunities for growth. When a failure occurs, it's essential to objectively analyze what went wrong, identify the root causes, and determine the lessons that can be drawn from the experience. By reframing failures as valuable feedback, one can iterate and refine the original idea, incorporating the newfound knowledge. Regular reflection and an open-minded attitude towards mistakes enable continuous improvement, turning failures into stepping stones towards innovation and success.

Try testing on people who you know are your champions. They will be honest with you without fear of retribution. Once you have tested on these important people, then you can be more comfortable sharing more broadly.

Innovation is a daring dance with both success and failure. One approach that's resonated with me is what I call transparent learning logs. When experimenting with new ideas, document not just the victories but also the missteps. Share these logs openly with your team in a fail-forward session, where everyone dissects what went wrong and how to pivot. This turns each failure into a communal lesson, fast-tracking collective wisdom. Being transparent about setbacks fosters a culture of trust and learning, where failure is simply a stepping stone to success. #failforward

Some thing that have worked for our teams: Welcome "failures"... - eliminate the word, "failures" - call them OFI's instead. (Opportunities For Improvements) - Learn as a group in public - Take feedback from every angle - Implement new standards and explain why's behind them - Give ownership to your team - Have owners follow up on the ideas they implemented - adjust - celebrate! - Explain the company impact and how big of a win it actually is.

There will ALWAYS be blind spots. Engaging objective, honest feedback is an essential part of failing in ways that can help you learn. Get a group of people who will tell you how they see it and engage their feedback often. Make sure that those people represent all levels of the project (i.e. - stakeholders, leaders, mentors, employees, etc.) so that you're finding the opportunities and blind spots across the project. When you have feedback from all areas, not only do you have better information, but you're informing the team as you go AND those who gave feedback will feel involved in the process. Win/win/win!

In my experience feedback remains a gift. The more open one is to receiving it, the more frequently and openly it will arrive. Guidance and advice could help shorten the time to success after failure. We learn a massive amount of what is better not doing or not worth doing a second time and we have space and grace to implement the winning formula.

If we incorporate the experiential learning cycle framework,(Kolb,1984) into most of our learning, there is an essential component of reflective observation where the learner has to indulge in objective self-reflection. To do this better, it would certainly help if learners/experimenters share these observations with subject matter experts to expand and produce findings of higher quality for further deliberations towards progress.

Seeking feedback is most crucial. It helps you to learn new things about yourself , help in discovering strength and weaknesses that you were not aware of yourself. Always take feedback optimistically.

When you fail, don’t ask ‘why did I fail?’ or ‘why did this happen?’ Instead ask ‘what went wrong?’ or ‘what could have been done differently?’ ‘Why’ questions tend to be more focused on you, while ‘what’ questions bring in the big picture and helps you identify and learn from the mistakes more holistically.

Keeping a reflections journal is one of the best leadership tools to leverage the hundreds of lessons learned from your leadership failures large & small. In fact this is to tool that gives you the insights to never fail big. It also allows you to learn from others. We all learn from experience but it is valuable to learn from the failures of others.

Taking a "Rinse and Repeat" strategy to heart can make all the difference. By treating both failure and success as data points in an ongoing journey, you develop a portfolio of experiences, not just isolated events. Tools like 'Iteration Retrospectives' where teams discuss what they learned from the last iteration and what they'll tweak for the next can be super helpful. Keep a "Learning Log" that documents key insights, pivots, and 'a-ha' moments, making the intangible benefits of failure and success tangible. This turns your journey into a knowledge asset, not only fine-tuning your team’s approach but also cultivating a resilient, ever-adapting team culture.

Erros não são sinônimos de fracasso, mas a chance de recomeçar com mais bagagem. Vou citar as palavras descritas no capítulo “Aprenda a Tirar Proveito dos Fracassos” do livro “As 16 Leis do Sucesso de Napoleon Hill”. Veja: “No caminho da construção do sucesso e criação de riqueza, tropeços, quedas e derrotas temporárias são não apenas inevitáveis, como partes essenciais do processo. Você precisa tirar proveito deles, pois, em nenhum outro lugar, poderá fortalecer seu desejo, determinação, curiosidade e, ao mesmo tempo, obter um conhecimento tão claro de como as coisas funcionam como na análise de seus próprios fracassos. Sem aprender a analisá-los e tirar proveito deles, dificilmente chegará aonde deseja chegar”.

Measure failure as per agile methodology: Divide the problem into small sections and check which was the weak link, if there was error in a particular section focus on that area in next time to improve with expert advice. For example a business idea fails, there might be several reasons for it, maybe the marketing strategy was not up to the mark or maybe user experience for branding wasn't great or sales pitch was lacking the positivity. Focusing on a particular area will allow you to improve your next business idea easily. Fail fast and win big strategy helps to get success surely.

The attitude of your company/employer also plays an important role in learning from failure. Are they open to failure and learning from it, or is failure punished? This is an important part of the process, and you need to make sure your organisation is open to it.

Stay Resilient: - Understand that failures are a natural part of innovation and growth. Develop resilience to bounce back and keep moving forward. Keep a Solution-Oriented mindset: Instead of dwelling on the problem, focus on solutions. What can you do differently in your next attempt? How can you turn this failure into an opportunity?