The upside of failure

A case for relentless experimentation

Perfectionism is one of the psychological plagues of our era. As we increasingly live in public, via social media, I can sense a rising allergy to any sort of failure or risk. I see it in my friends; I see it in my colleagues; I see it in my son. (And this is not just anecdotal. The data is clear that perfectionism is getting worse.) 

But failure is how we learn. In fact, we shouldn’t even call it failure. Instead, call it experimentation. 

Consider this a reminder to experiment relentlessly. See if you can make it a habit. And even when you “fail,” you win—because you’ve learned something that may help you grow and succeed going forward. 

On the podcast today, my guest, Stanford innovation expert Dr. Frederik Pferdt, extols the virtues of relentless experimentation. In fact, he says it is one of six pillars of his plan for approaching the future with optimism instead of anxiety. 

Listen or watch for much more.

Frederik is going to be in the chat today to answer your questions, and I’ll be there too. How willing are you to take calculated risks?

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