Post on 22-May-2018
1Copyright©2015BobtheBA– TheLeagueOfAnalystsInc..AllRightsReserved.
I’msoexcited– Ifailed!
Besttimeever– itwasanepicfail!Wee!
Weareconstantlytoldthatfailureisnotanoption.Butlet’sgetrealforaminute,
youdidn’tpopoutofthewombandstartrunningamarathon.Youtriedoverand
overagainjusttowalk.Youfellalot.Andyoulearnedalottoo.Sinceyouallwalked
intothisroom,I’mthinkingthefailureofbeingabletowalkdidn’tholdyouback
much.
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It’sliketheyputitinwriting…
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Takenote– don’tannoythedeliveryguy.
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Averyingeniouswastofail.
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• Nocommonsense
• Stupidity
• Baddecisionsandjudgement
• Lackofthinking
• Idiocy
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StarbuckswasstartedasanItalianCoffeeShopinSeattle,Washingtonin1971.The
menuwasentirelyinItalian– notEnglish.OperaMusicwasplayedonanendless
loopinthebackground.Mostlystandingroomonlywithveryfewchairs.Starbuck’s
didn’tmakeaprofitforthefirst9yearsofit’sexistence.
HowmuchdidStarbuck’schangein9yearstobecomeprofitable?Whatdidthey
changeinthe9yearstheywerefailing?
• TheyaddeddriveUpwindows
• Comfortableseatingwasadded
• “CoffeeHouse”musicplayinginthebackground– nooperamusic
• Servesawidemenuofhot&coldcoffeeswithfood– notjustcoffee
• SomeItaliantermsstillremainonthemenu– butit’salmostentirelyinEnglish
Source:Wikipedia,Starbucks.com
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Thiscompanystartedoutfailingfor9yearsandnowhasover10,000storesworld-
wide.EvenStarbuck’sdidn’tburstoutofSeattlearockstarsuccess,ittookyearsof
failuretocrafttheirbrand.Couldyousticktoaprojectfor9yearstomakeit
profitableforyourorganization?Probablynot.EventhoughStarbuck’sfailedinthe
beginning– theystucktoitinmakingimprovementstosucceed.
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Let’slookatfailureinadifferentway.
ThePottery ClassStory:QuantityversusQuality
• AbeginnersPotteryclasswasdividedinto2groups
• Onegroupwastoldthatifyouprovide50poundsofpots,yougetanA
• Theothergroupwastoldtoproducethebestsinglepottechnicallyand
artisticallywouldgetanA
• Theyweregiven3months
• Potswerejudgedbypotteryexpertsontechnicalandartisticmerit
Source:TedOrlandandDavidWaylon,“TheArtofFear”,RyanBabineaux&John
Krumboltz.“FailFast,FailOften”
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QuantityWon!
Why?
• TheQUALITYgroup ofstudentsfocusedonbeingflawlesstoproducejust
oneperfectpotanddidn’tmakemanypots.Theydidn’tgettheexperience
withworkingwiththeclaywhichleadtobetterdesigns.
• TheQUANTITYgroupwonbecauseinsteadoftryingtoavoidmistakesor
beingperfectbymakingoneperfectpot, thestudentspushedthemselves
tomakemorepotsandindoingsolearnedmore.Moreexperimentation
wasleadingthemtobetterdesigns.
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PermissiontoFail
Giveyourselfpermissiontofail.Startquicklyandlearnfromyourmistakes.Failing
quicklyenablesyoutolearnquickly.Settheexpectationwithyourselfandyourteam
thatfailurewillhelpleadtobetterdesigns.
Doyougiveyourselfandyourteampermissiontofailsotheycanlearn?Thinkabout
thepotsstoryIjusttold.Howcouldthatbeappliedtoyourteam?
Notgivingyourselforyourteampermissiontofailcreatesthesituationwhere
everyoneissofocusedonthequalitytheyneverlearntoinnovateafterfailing.
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FailuretoSuccess
• IfIwanttobeagreatmusician,Imustfirstplayalotofbadmusic.Howdo
yougettoCarnegie Hall?Practice.OrmaybeGPS.
• IfIwanttobeagreatprojectmanagerorbusinessanalyst,Imustworkon
alotofprojectsthatfail.
• IfIwanttolearnChinese,ImustspeakalotofbadChinese.
• IfIwanttosucceed,Imustfailfirst.
Ifyouconstantlythinkyou can’teverfail,youneverseethefailurecoming.The
invincibleattitudeof“we’veneverfailed,wedon’tknowhowtofail”willblindside
youandyourorganizationeverytime.
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LearningtoPlayChess
Amaniswalkingthroughtheparkonedayandseespeopleplayingchessinthepark.
Hefindsitveryinterestingashehadplayedchesswhenhewasyounger.Hedidn’t
thinkhewasverygoodatitanddecidedtobrushuponchessskills.
Heboughtacomputergametoteachhimchessandwenthometopracticeonhis
own.Whenhewasrankedasanintermediatelevelinthechessgamethenhe
thoughtitwastimetogototheparktochallengeother’sinchess.
Hewentbacktotheparkandsatatachesstableandstartedtoplay.Hewas
extremelyfocused,nervousandverycompetitivebuttheplayersaroundhimwereall
laughingandtalkingbarelynoticingthechessboard.Soonhewaslosinggameafter
gameasplayersmademovesquicklyandunpredictably.Hegotfrustratedandquit
chessbecausehedidn’tfeelhewassmartenoughortalentedenoughtoplay.
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FailureIsn’taLackofIntelligence
• Themanstoppedplayingbecausehefelthisintelligencewasinquestion–
hefeltstupid
• Losingdoesn’treflectonyourintelligenceoranythingelse
• Bevulnerable– youwilllearnmore.
• Havefunatlearning– everyonelearnsfasterwhentheyarehavingfun.If
you’reuptightandintense onwinningyouforgetaboutlearning.
• Interactwithotherstolearnfromthem– youcan’tlearnitonyourown
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Amathteacherdividedherclassinto2groups.Thefirstgroupwasalwayspraisedfor
theirintelligence.Thesecondgroupwasalwayspraisedfortheireffort.Bothgroups
weregivenasimpletestfirstandpraisedaccordingly.Theintelligentgroupfortheir
intelligence.Theeffortgroupfortheireffort.
Themathteacherthengavebothgroupsachoicebetweentaking2tests.Onetest
wouldbeaseasyastheonetheyjusttookandtheotherwouldbeharderbutthey
wouldlearnmorefromit.Themajorityofstudentspraisedfortheirintelligence
chosethesimpletest.Theoppositewastrueforthestudentsthatwerepraisedfor
theireffort.Thestudentswhowerepraisedfortheireffortnotonlyperformedbetter
onthehardertestbutalsohadamorepositivereactiontotheirownperformanceon
thehardertest.
Themathteacherthengavethehardertestwasgiventobothgroups.The
intelligencepraisedgroupdidn’tperformaswellasexpectedandhadamore
negativereactiontoperformingworseonthehardertest.Theeffortgroup
performedagainbetteronthehardertestbecausetheylearnedfromtakingthe
previousdifficulttest.
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“CarolDweck.Inherclassicresearchstudy,shehadfourhundredfifth-gradestudents
completeatestcomposedofeasy-to-solveproblems.”ExcerptFrom:RyanBabineaux
&JohnKrumboltz.“FailFast,FailOften.”iBooks.https://itun.es/us/Rb5IN.l
Alsointhebook“Nuture Shock”
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It’sa FrameofMind
• Actinawaythatbringsmoreopportunitiesforlearning– make theeffort
tolearn
• Beopentotacklethemoredifficultthingseventhoughfailurewilloccur
• Approachthemoredifficultpositively– anegativecantfailattitudewill
createnegativeresults
• Failuredoesn’tmakeyoustupid– learning fromfailuremakesyousmarter
• Approachthefailurepositivelyasawayoflearning– notassomethingbad
orevil
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BeingaBeginnerputsyouintheframeofmindtobealearner.
• Presentyourselfasalearner- Rejecttheideayouareallknowingoran
expert.
• ExploreALL thepossibilities– don’tlimitthingstojustwhatyouknow.
• Beplayfulandcurioustotrynewthingsout
• FocusonlearningNOTonhowwellyouperformthetask
• Seeothersasteachersandaskforhelp
• Expectyouwillmakemistakesandkeeppositiveaboutthem– give
yourselfpermissiontofail
• Learnfromyourmistakesandtryitagain
• Trytodiscoverwhatyoudon’tknow
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Beingcuriousishowyoulearn!It’smyfavoritequote becauseintheendeveryone
recognizesEinsteinasageniusorveryintelligent.Didtheyseehiscuriosity?
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BeingCurious
• Thereasonthatyoungchildrenlearnquicklyistheyaren’tafraidtotry
somethingout
• Theyarealwaysfidgeting,poking,looking,askingquestionsand
experimentingtolearnmoreabouttheworldaroundthem.
• Theydon’tstoptothinkhowitwillimpacttheirfuturecareerortheir
intelligence.
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CuriosityKillers
• Askingifyouwillbegoodatitfirst– experimenttofindoutifyouare
• Idon't’haveenoughtime- ifit’ssomethingyouarepassionateaboutthen
makethetime
• Askingyourselfifyouhavetheintelligence,patience,ortalent- youdon’t
knowuntilyoutry
ShouldIcommittoit?Youdon’thavetocommittobecominganexperton
somethingtojustwanttotryout.Tryitoutandseehowitgoes.Ifit’sadisasterthe
answertothequestionsofcontinuingonisanswered.Be thebestthatyoucanbe
firstbeforetryingtoreachthepinnacleorgoldmedalchampion.
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MoreCuriosityKillers
Itcoststoomuch!Passionhelpsyouworktofindthemoneyinthebudgetbyshiftingotherexpensesor
findingnewrevenuestreams.
Whatwillpeoplethinkofme?I’lllooksilly!Beingsillyishavingfun.Lookatthemostsuccessfulpeopleandseetheirsilly
hobbies.
Whatistheoutcome?Youcan’tpossiblyknowyourexactfuture.Youmightaswellspendyourtimehaving
funandtryingnewthings.
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GoogleTime– Googleinspiresit’sdeveloperstobecuriousbyprovidedpaidtimeto
pursueprojectsandideasoftheirown.
• Bygivingdevelopersfreetimetoworkonanyprojectstheywanted,
Googlewasabletocreatemanynewproducts– evenaselfdrivingcar.
• Beingcuriousandexperimentingleadtoalotofprofitableprojects– anda
lotofnosoonestoo!
• Noteveryoneofgooglelabsprojectsmadeittothebigtime– manyof
themfailed.
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StopTakingYourselfOutofExploring– personally andinyourorganization
• Openthedoortocuriosity
• Actonthecuriosityandfindnewexperiences
• Pursuewhateveryoufindinginteresting
• Missedlifechangingopportunitieshappenwhenyoudon’texplore
curiosity
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WhenIwasyounger,Ialwaysfoundartingeneraltobeveryinteresting.Iwasalways
drawntotheabilitytocreateanddesign.SoIwasalwaysveryhappytogotoart
class.Artontheotherhandwasn’tsohappytohavemeintheclass.Myfirst
assignmentwastosculptsomethingoutofclay– literallyanythingatall.Ionlygot
onelumpofclay.AshardasItriedtheonlythingIcouldmakewasanashtrayand
notaverygoodone.MyartteachergavemeaD– Ithinkhewasbeingnice.Our
nextassignmentinartclasswasoilpaintingastilllife.Basicallyanythingwithfruitin
abowlwouldbefine.
SooffIwenttodrawmyscenewithabowloffruit.Isketcheditoverandoveron
paperandjustcouldn’tgetitright.FinallyIdecidedtojustgenerallyplaceitemson
thecanvasandjustgofromthere.Thebowloffruitwillbesomewhereoverhere.
Thetableobviouslyunderneathitsomehow.Anopenwindowwithacurtainhere.I
paintedthecanvasoverandover.WeonlygotonecanvassoIjustkeptpaintingover
thingstotrytomakeitbetter.AfteralotofworkIfinallygottothepointwhereIjust
couldn’tpaintathinganymore.It’snotjustgoingtogetbetterItoldmyself.
Ilearnedalotaboutartinthatclass.IpursuedsomethingIfoundinteresting.Itook
abigchanceofgettingalotofridiculebyturninginmyassignment.Wellthatbowl
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offruitwasn’tPicassobutitlandedmeanA- inaclassIwasliterallyfailing.
Stoptalkingyourselfoutoftryingsomethingnewandgoforit!Failurecanbefun.
Godknowsmyashtraymadeagreatdoorstopforyears.
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AdvantagesofCuriosity
• Keepsyouawareandpresent- it’satypeofintelligence
• Curiosityhasanexpirationdate-waitingtoactdilutesyourabilitytouseit
• Curiosityhelpsyoulearnquickly- experiment,test,investigate
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CreateaFunList
• It’slikeabucketlist
• Picksomethingyouhavealwayswantedtotrybutnevercouldgetyourself
todoit– legalactivitiesofcourse!
• Findaneasysimplewaytotryitout– seehowitfeelsandwhatyoucould
learnfromit
• Involveyourfamilyoryourteam– buildasupportsystemtoexplore
together
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What’sonYourFunList?
LearnaLanguageLearningFrenchdoesn’tmeaningspeakingitfluently,itmeanstakingabasiclesson
onlineoraskingsomeonewhospeaksFrenchtohelpyousayafewwords.
BeaPainterBuyakidswatercolorsetandmakeamesspaintinganything.Getyourkidsinvolved
forevenmorefun.
BeaChefCheckoutrecipesonlineandpickoneyouhavealwayswantedtomakethentryit
outonyourfamily
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FailingSafely
Thebestthingwecandoistoprepareourselvestofailistocreateasoftlandingspot.
Beforeheadingoutonthattaskthinkalittlebitahead.Don’tjumpoutofanairplane
withoutaparachute!Lookingalittlebitaheadattheworstcasescenarioina
positivewayisofgreatbenefit.
How doesthisapplytoyourorganizationorteam?Ifyouaretryingsomethingout
thatisneworundertakingachange,lookaheadtoseewhatpotentialriskslayahead
ofyou.Thenthinkaboutwhatwouldhappeniftherewasafailureandhowyou
couldsafelyfindasoftlandingspot.
Riskmitigationcanridyourselfoftherisk,butitcanalsohaveacontingencyplanor
softlandingspotinplacetoo.
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YouSuck– NowWhat?
Realizationthat youhavefailedcancreatestrongfeelingsofdisappointmentand
frustration.Inordertocontinuelearning,weneedto:
• Acknowledgethatyoudidyourbestandthingsdidn’tworkouttheway
youwanted
• Acknowledgethedisappointmentandemotionsthenmoveon– don’t
dwellonthepast
• Significantgrowthcomespainfulfailures
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ReasonsforFailing
• Youdiscoveredlapsesinyourunderstandingorknowledge
• Youdiscoveredyoureallyaren’tgoodatit
• Youdiscoveredyoureallydon’tlikeit
• Youdiscoveredyourassumptionswereinaccurate– thoseassumptionsalwaysget
intheway!
• Whatelse?
DIDYOUhavemeasurements?Howdoyouknowyoufailed?Orareabouttofail?
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LearnFromFailure
• Reflectonthefailuretolearnit’slessons
• Don’tburyyourselfinaholewithfiguringoutwhyyoufailed- understand
itthebestyoucanandmoveforwardanddon’tobsessonit
• Figureoutthe1or2thingsthatyoulearnedfromthefailure
• You’regoingtomakemoremistakesandyou’regoingtolearnfromthem
asyougetbetterandbetter
• Youarethelearner– remembertogiveyourselfpermissiontofailagain
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TakingtheCriticism
• It’seasytogetfrustrated
• Criticismbreedscriticism– itspiralsintoaviciouscirclequickly
• Don’tfeeditbybeingdefensive– either takethenoteorchoosenotto
takethenote- thenmoveon!
• Discoverthepointsyoufeelwerejustifiedandaddthemtolessonslearned
• Don’tBLAMESTORM– learntogetherfromtheexperiencedon’tpickout
onepersontogetthrownunderthebus
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Change&Flexibility
Inordertofailsafelyandlearnfromityoumustbeflexibleandacceptingofchanges.
Changesaretheopportunity tolearnsomethingnewandtotakeonanewchallenge
whereyoucangrow.
• Overyourlifetimeyouwillbeexposedtomanyopportunities.Google,
Facebook,Amazon,Appleemploythousandsofpeoplewhohavecareers
inthingsthatneverexistedbefore.
• Inthenext10yearswhatyouknownowwillhavechangedtosomething
new- technologyevolvesin3to5yearcycles.
• Youareuniqueandmultifacetedpersonthatcan’tbematchedtojustone
roleandoneindustry
• It’sokaytochangeyourmindandmoveintoadifferentdirection
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“Potbellystartedasanantiquestorein1977. Atonepoint,theownersdecidedto
servesandwichestohelpdrawmoretrafficintothestore.Thecustomersprovedto
bemoreinterestedinthesandwichesthanthevintageglassdoorknobsandTiffany
lamps.”
Changecantakeyouinacompletelydifferentdirection.
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IdentifytheFearIwanttobeagreatchefandholdgreatdinnerpartiesbutI’mafraidI’mabadcook
andnotagoodhost
ReverseThinkFailure– IdentifytheSituationIburnwaterandmybestdishisamicrowavedhotdog.Ineedtolearnsomegood
appetizerrecipes.
TryitOutI’lltrytoholdafewdinnersbeforetheengagementpartyandaskforfeedbackfrom
myguests.I’llmakemistakesandhavefunatit.I’llfindrecipesonlinethatareeasy
totryandlookliketastydishes.
FailForward– LearnYourLessonsIlearnedhowtoorganizemyselfbetterinthekitchenandtohavemorethings
preparedinadvancesoI’mabletobeabetterhost.Ishouldn’tbeinthekitchen
puttingoutfiresallthetimebecausewheneveryoneseesmeIlookreallystressed
out.I’mreadytohostthatengagementparty- let’sdoitandholdthatengagement
party!
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DecideYourTrajectoryTheengagement partywentprettywell.NexttimeI’llhostthe50
thwedding
anniversarypartyformymomanddad. Oritdidn’tgowellandmaybeit’stimeto
changedirectionbyhangingupmyapronandgettingacaterer.
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• Fiveyearcareerplansneverworkout- wechangetoorapidlytoevengothere.
Tryputtingtogethera1-3yearplaninstead.Keep theplansimplesoyoualways
rememberit.
• Makeasmallerplanforyourcareer- focusonlearningandexperimentation.
Expandyourknowledgeinmanydifferentareassoyoucanapplythatknowledge
inyourprojects.Volunteertotakeonnewopportunitiestolearnnewsystemsand
disciplines.
• Takesmallstepstowardsabiggergoal– youcan’tjumpovertheGrandCanyon.
• Learnasmanythingsasyoucan– greaterknowledgegivesyoutheedgeinbeing
abletocomeupwithnewinnovativesolutions notbecauseyoualreadyhad
experiencewiththesolutionbutyoucreatedamoreopenenvironmentthatpulls
fromawiderareaofpotentialsolutions.
• Experimenttodisproveyourassumptions– don’tdismisstheassumptions
• Bepreparedtochangecourseatanymoment– flexibility isthekey!
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ApproachestoAcceleratingFailure
• Prototyping– doyouhaveanenvironmentwhereyoucanplaywiththe
systemorsolutionbeforestartingtobuildthesolution?
• UserInterface(screensandreports)Mockups&WireFrames– visualize
theinterfacesandgainagreementbeforestartingdevelopmentor
construction
• BuildingaConceptPiñata- getthecandyoutbybeingaskepticand
challengingtheconceptuntilitbecomesstronger
• DemolitionDerby- tryingtogetittobreak,hackingitup- intentionally
tryingtomakeitfail– thinkofitintermsofbeingaqualityanalysttryingto
getthesystemtoimplode.
• Conferenceroompilots- walkingthroughtheprocessinarealisticway
withagroupofstakeholders
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• MakeitaBetaversionforusertoplaywithandgetuserfeedback– frame
itasanexperiment
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• Setexpectationsthatfailureisgoingtohappenandthatwewilllearnfromit
• Showthebenefitoffailingfast- thinksiliconvalley
• Don’tbeoverwhelmedbytheirfear- overwhelmingfearstopscreativeand
innovativesolutionsdeadintheirtracks
• MakesureyouhaveplanBandandasoftplacetoland
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• Frameit– seeyouropportunities,funlist,expandyourareaofknowledgeby
volunteering
• Accept– allowyourselftofail,giveyourselfpermission
• Seek– becurious,explorationisthekeytoinnovation andinvention
• Think– plan forasoftlanding,prototyping,thinkaboutwaystofailsafely
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• Strategic – Createaplan,1-3yearsout,keepitshorttermtomakeitrelevant,
anythinglongerthen3yearsneverworksout
• Accountable– Measurementstoknowyouarefailing,observation,feedbackfrom
others
• Flexible– Understandyourdiscoverycouldtakeyouinacompletelydifferent
directionthatisunexpected
• Expectations– setexpectationsclearlyandoften,createthecommon
understandingweneedtofailinordertolearn
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