From Lemons to Lemonade: Squeeze Every Last Drop of Success Out of Your Mistakes

Chapter 7. Reflections on “Learning from Failure”

“LIFE IS A SERIES OF EXPERIENCES, EACH ONE OF WHICH MAKES US BIGGER, EVEN THOUGH IT IS HARD TO REALIZE THIS. FOR THE WORLD WAS BUILT TO DEVELOP CHARACTER, AND WE MUST LEARN THAT THE SETBACKS AND GRIEFS WHICH WE ENDURE HELP US IN OUR MARCHING ONWARD.”

—HENRY FORD (1863–1947)

A project failure can be a step toward subsequent success if we learn from our experience. Although many people have told us that we learn more from our failures than our successes, learning from failure is not automatic or instantaneous. We typically have a negative emotional reaction to a project failure. This negative emotional reaction interferes with the learning process. Learning from failure requires a process ...