Failure Friday #1 with Dan Ward

Key Insights

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  Failure is best defined as effort not producing the desired outcome, separating actions from identity.

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  Studying failure explicitly, as aviation pioneers did, accelerates innovation by identifying dead ends and promising directions.

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  Octave Chanute’s 1894 book documented 400 years of flying machine failures to guide future attempts.

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  National pride and geopolitics historically hindered data sharing and collective learning among aviation pioneers.

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  The Wright siblings included their sister Catherine as a key collaborator often overlooked in history.

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  Failure cake, a practice of gathering with cake after a failure, creates psychological safety and destigmatizes failure.

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  Celebrating the attempt, not failure itself, incentivizes boldness and risk-taking within teams.

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  Experiments should be framed as learning opportunities; even negative results provide valuable data.

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  Language choice around failure matters and should fit the cultural and contextual environment.

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  Clear definitions of success and intended impact are essential to meaningfully assess outcomes and failure.

Notable Quotes