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.

4

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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