Failure is Not Such a Bad Thing

I recently read an article in the Harvard Business Review, written by Amy C. Edmondson, that gives strategy ideas to learn from failure. She finds organizations that learn well from failure are extraordinarily rare. At the Community Foundation of Western Nevada, we strive to be one of those extraordinary organizations. The acceptance and use of, failure opportunities is a necessary part of organization’s growth. C.S. Lewis said, “Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.” Edmondson makes it clear that most organizations do genuinely want to improve performance, spending hours on correcting mistakes, making many efforts, but that they simply take the wrong approach. The misguided approach says mistakes are bad, failure is bad, followed by typically exhorting the person who made the mistake to avoid similar errors in the future. Sometimes a report is written on the failure and shared it with others. In general, the culture of the most successful organizations promotes that failure is a learning opportunity, and mistakes happen. It is most important to avoid the blame game and to create a culture where mistakes can be openly admitted. It is then easier to see how the mistake was made and to candidly, and even eagerly, talk about how to do better in the future. Helping the team in total, and every team member individually, to be successful, results in the kind of culture that encourages innovation, creativity, staff collaboration, and ultimately, the best outcomes possible. Everyone shares in the success of the organization. The Community Foundation is an organization that is growing and changing rapidly, expanding our mission, and engaging new segments of the community. Our systems are complex. With rapid change and complex systems, there are more opportunities for failure. Nurturing an environment that views failures as a normal part of the process, and sees each failure is a learning experience is necessary. I am struck by a quote from someone I’d never heard of, Morihei Ueshiba, a Japanese Martial Artist from the early 20th century, who said: “Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.” Most mistakes we make at the Community Foundation are within the office environment, and staff can work together to improve. But, sometimes we make mistakes that impact our fund holders, board members, grantees, and the community we serve. Sometimes we do fail, although clearly, this isn’t our intention. When we can see where, when, why, and what needs improvement, we do better. Occasionally we are not aware that improvement is needed until we get feedback from someone like you. Help us learn and grow. If you are a professional advisor, fund holder, involved with one of our community projects, or a friend of the Community Foundation, please let us know when we are failing. We will be most grateful for your feedback and will use it constructively to build a community foundation that is as efficient, effective, and impactful as possible. For more information about the Community Foundation and our work in the community, or if you would like to join us in our work, please give me a call. Chris Askin, President, and CEO