Embrace Failure as a Learning Tool
23 October 2025
When I was a boy at school, “you failed” was the worst thing you could hear. Teachers tutted, shook their heads, and you were mocked. The message was clear: don’t fail! You will be humiliated and seen as stupid!
Fast forward to the business world. We preach a “growth mindset,” but many of us were raised with a “fear of failure” mindset. How do you reconcile the two?
Think of Thomas Edison, who famously discovered “10,000 ways that don’t work,” or Elon Musk. They treat failure as feedback, not defeat. Why? They were brought up in “succeed” environments.
Psychologists will tell you change is possible - if done carefully. “Carefully” breaks down to two words: care + fully. Change happens when a mentor, teacher, or manager fully cares for the individual, even before the business.
The goal: create a culture where it’s safe to fail. When people fear mistakes, innovation dies. Encourage failure as a learning tool, and teams gain the confidence to experiment, grow, and succeed.
Question for you: What’s your organization’s “safe-to-fail” approach? How do you encourage learning from mistakes?
Written by Mark Deavall
If you would like to talk to me, please call me on +2782 465 5481 or email me on markd@markdeavall.com
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