I've had so many grant applications for my comics turned down. So many rejections from magazine editors. So many publishers who never even answered my emails. The trick is not to dwell on it and just keep going.
Convincing, yet no one is rushing to go first. Trusting failure’s wobbly nature is tricky and requires layered finesse. Not every shade heals pretty in a ruthless land built on cutthroat competition. Eaten alive Jenga, anyone?
I’ll share an intensely consequential example. During high school I went to a house party to spend time with my crush. Lingered with mutual friends before joining her on a grassy hill. Immediately settling into a pile of dog shit (presumably), I became from that moment, in her eyes, Poopy Hand.
Wow, this resonates so deeply with my experimentation mindset! The paradox of failure isn't just philosophical - it's the exact reality I face every time I dive into a new digital project or coding adventure.
That quote about the master failing more times than the beginner has tried? ABSOLUTELY TRUE in tech and digital marketing. When I was getting back into coding after years away, I probably generated more error messages in a week than most beginners see in a month! But each of those failures taught me something crucial.
What's fascinating about failure in digital work specifically is how the iteration cycles have become lightning-fast. I can fail 20 times before breakfast when testing a new marketing approach or debugging a feature. And honestly? Those rapid-fire failures are EXACTLY what builds expertise.
I love that Princeton professor's "CV of failures" concept. In our professional lives on social media, we're constantly curating these perfect success stories, aren't we? But behind every successful digital transformation or marketing campaign I've led were DOZENS of approaches that didn't work, features that had to be scrapped, or ideas that fell completely flat.
The most valuable skill I've developed isn't avoiding failure - it's learning how to fail EFFICIENTLY. How to extract the lesson quickly, adjust course, and try again without getting emotionally derailed.
Has anyone else noticed that the most innovative people in your organization are often the ones most comfortable with failure? There's this interesting correlation between willingness to experiment (and potentially fail) and the ability to discover breakthrough approaches.
What failures have taught you the most in your professional journey? I'm fascinated by how differently people process and learn from setbacks.
Panel I'm very excited to read your journey. I'm highly obsessed with the notion of failing to succeed, it's the title of my publication!
I too have worked in an interactive learning work environment which required sprints and encouraged testing. It's refreshing to approach things with a scientific mind and still get excited when your hypothesis was false, but you STILL gained learnings.
I also agree that innovative people are comfortable with failure, I'm currently researching for a piece with that as the premise.
Failure because of mistakes you did is a learning moment but failure because of people who failed you or because of whom you failed, is out of our control. Learning there is to just move away from them.
I've had so many grant applications for my comics turned down. So many rejections from magazine editors. So many publishers who never even answered my emails. The trick is not to dwell on it and just keep going.
Love this. If you never had any rejections you’d also never have had your successes — as it would mean you never tried in the first place!
Convincing, yet no one is rushing to go first. Trusting failure’s wobbly nature is tricky and requires layered finesse. Not every shade heals pretty in a ruthless land built on cutthroat competition. Eaten alive Jenga, anyone?
I’ll share an intensely consequential example. During high school I went to a house party to spend time with my crush. Lingered with mutual friends before joining her on a grassy hill. Immediately settling into a pile of dog shit (presumably), I became from that moment, in her eyes, Poopy Hand.
Ahh, the safe distance of time.
Oh no — poopy hand!
A valuable lesson learned here I’m sure 😅
lol, the internet is an alarming minefield of poopy grievances!
Wow, this resonates so deeply with my experimentation mindset! The paradox of failure isn't just philosophical - it's the exact reality I face every time I dive into a new digital project or coding adventure.
That quote about the master failing more times than the beginner has tried? ABSOLUTELY TRUE in tech and digital marketing. When I was getting back into coding after years away, I probably generated more error messages in a week than most beginners see in a month! But each of those failures taught me something crucial.
What's fascinating about failure in digital work specifically is how the iteration cycles have become lightning-fast. I can fail 20 times before breakfast when testing a new marketing approach or debugging a feature. And honestly? Those rapid-fire failures are EXACTLY what builds expertise.
I love that Princeton professor's "CV of failures" concept. In our professional lives on social media, we're constantly curating these perfect success stories, aren't we? But behind every successful digital transformation or marketing campaign I've led were DOZENS of approaches that didn't work, features that had to be scrapped, or ideas that fell completely flat.
The most valuable skill I've developed isn't avoiding failure - it's learning how to fail EFFICIENTLY. How to extract the lesson quickly, adjust course, and try again without getting emotionally derailed.
Has anyone else noticed that the most innovative people in your organization are often the ones most comfortable with failure? There's this interesting correlation between willingness to experiment (and potentially fail) and the ability to discover breakthrough approaches.
What failures have taught you the most in your professional journey? I'm fascinated by how differently people process and learn from setbacks.
If you're interested in more thoughts on embracing experimentation (and the inevitable failures that come with it), I wrote about my own journey combining technical and business approaches here: https://thoughts.jock.pl/p/product-owners-technical-founders-building-mvps-2025
Panel I'm very excited to read your journey. I'm highly obsessed with the notion of failing to succeed, it's the title of my publication!
I too have worked in an interactive learning work environment which required sprints and encouraged testing. It's refreshing to approach things with a scientific mind and still get excited when your hypothesis was false, but you STILL gained learnings.
I also agree that innovative people are comfortable with failure, I'm currently researching for a piece with that as the premise.
PAWEL* Damn auto correct.
hahaha :D In world with AI, Autocorrect is still missing the point xD
Exactly. At least my readers will always know I'm human with the occasional typo and embarrassing grammar. 😅
Failure because of mistakes you did is a learning moment but failure because of people who failed you or because of whom you failed, is out of our control. Learning there is to just move away from them.
Well said. It’s important to recognise the difference. Both are solved in different ways.