Innovation means failure, and failure is funny

“It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce.” –Zig Ziglar: American author, salesman, motivational speaker.

Bloopers. Gag reel. Outtakes. I can’t get enough of them. For me, they are almost more enjoyable than the show they’re from. There is something about seeing the actors break character and laugh with each other. It didn’t really occur to me until recently that these are mistakes. Failures. We are watching the imperfections of people who too often are perceived as perfect and the ideal to which we should aspire.  It’s fascinating that almost all movies and shows now include these gag reels with the final product.

In my own life, laughing at myself after an embarrassing moment has helped me move on and let it go, rather than obsess over it. When facilitating groups, I have often had to do this in front of people. It had the added benefit of giving permission to others to laugh with me, but, like the bloopers do for actors, it humanizes me as a facilitator or “expert.” Whether you have to do it in the moment publicly, or not, there is something cathartic about it. Beth Kanter wrote an article in 2013 for Harvard Business Review that described the “failure bow,” which was developed by an improv teacher named Matt Smith. Taking a bow after a mistake, grinning and then moving on can actually remove our self-doubt and self-judgement. This allows us to be more flexible, learn from our mistakes and improve results.

Kanter even describes how several organizations have ritualized this honoring of failures. Each organization’s “failure bow” includes lessons learns, specifics about what went well and what went wrong, and something fun for both presenters and audience.

Failure is an unavoidable outcome of innovation, but many leaders struggle with how to manage unsuccessful efforts. It’s important to learn from these when possible, but it’s also key for people to know that it is safe to fail. What if leaders and organizations could help their employees think of the failures that result from their innovation efforts in such a way? Failure is unavoidable, and can be as powerful as successes. It can also be fun.

#innovation #failure #organizationalculture #fun