Mistakes

Never Let Your Schooling Interfere with Your Education

A sample of school test questions listed online demonstrates that even those responsible for creating tests (exams) can get the answers wrong. It reminds us that despite implied and/or earned expert status, the knowledge/process source might be wrong.

Who are the authority figures that your enterprise relies on as sources of information, resources, funds, and/or accreditation? What happens when they provide incorrect information and/or make the erroneous assumptions? How has your team responded? What lessons have been learned? Is it an anecdote still being discussed, has the organization moved on, or was it catastrophic?

Mistake and Recovery

The ability to make choices is one of the most significant currencies offered to humankind. Not everyone is afforded a similar range of options; some individuals can only choose between undesirable outcomes. Others have seemingly limitless options at any moment.

If we want to assess the culture of our community, family, and workplace, a metric is to examine how we are treated after we make a mistake. Are we provided the space to recover? Do others show up and support us when we trip into a void? Are we permitted to repair the damage and/or share what we have learned with others? Is our identity forever tied to the depths of our narrative, or can we reclaim our story?

Making Mistakes in Public

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Read the Q&A section on Banksy’s website* and be prepared for simple responses.  

Question: Best and worst part of creating Street Art?

Answer: Make your mistakes in public.

What is worth doing, even if it contains mistakes?  What risks are we willing to take in order to connect an idea with a community that may care?  Who are we willing to disappoint in order to complete our quest?  

The opportunities that cause me the most anxiety are usually the ones that I need to explore.  I said ‘yes’ to a university experience even though I did not have all the answers and was bound to fail repeatedly in a classroom of strangers.  I agreed to work on consulting engagements that challenge my approach and yet I continue to look for ways to serve and add value.  Travel brings numerous opportunities to fail publicly and yet I continue to pursue a destination even when I make a wrong turn or plan poorly.  I participate in sports that provide moments physical pain.  My original front tooth lies somewhere on the side of the road in NH thanks to a cycling team crash in High School.  The very public mistake of inadvertently brushing my front wheel against another rider’s rear wheel left me more committed to my craft.

As Seth Godin reminds us, do work that matters.  I highly recommend Seth’s audio book, Leap First: Creating Work that Matters.  The development of the audiobook inspired the publication of Your Turn, which is equally engaging.  I have been handing out my extra copies to people who are trying to create change and are willing to succeed and fail in public.

I look forward to seeing our mistakes in public venues.  Our art matters.

* Banksy is not on Facebook or Twitter but his art continues to be discovered wherever he produces it.