Failure should not be stigmatized, but not glorified either!

Very important point here from Corporate Rebels. I agree on a general level that failure shouldn't be stigmatized, but I still think it’s important to distinguish at least between:

1️⃣ Avoidable and unavoidable failures
2️⃣ Learning by doing mistakes vs reflection
3️⃣ The concrete situation at hand

Yes, failure will occur and once it occurs I learn from it. And for certain tasks failure might even be unavoidable so it’s a price I have and even want to pay.

But then there are avoidable failures and mistakes and the world is full of it. Just to list a few:

❌ Failure because of lack of preparation
❌ Failure because of sloppy thinking
❌ Failure because of inadequate risk
❌ Failure because of gross self-overconfidence or hubris
❌ Failure because of impatience

Not necessary.

You don't want to make beginner’s mistakes when you're not a beginner anymore.

Same with learning. The frame implicitly suggests there’s only learning by failure but clearly it’s not. Before experimentation you model or at least you think through it (see above). You also learn by study and reflection not only experimentation.

Whether failure avoidance is a bad strategy or not is, of course, highly situational. Imagine you're sitting in a plane or are undergoing a heart surgery. Would you encourage the pilot or surgeon to engage in "experimentation" or "learning by doing"? Probably not.

⚠ Failure shouldn’t be stigmatized but it shouldn’t be glorified either.

One has to show people the full picture, incomplete frameworks will not be adopted. The conscious part might nod, but the unconscious part will reject it because it senses that this is only half true.

👉 Here are the Do's:

✅ Be conscious of and assess which situation you're in
✅ Adjust your risk accordingly but then take that risk and ACT
✅ If failure occurs learn from it and apply it next time