“There’s no such thing as wrong notes”—Miles Davis
Granted, we’re not all jazz musicians –but is he right? How will we ever approach our ambition, succeed in the unknown, without a healthy relationship to failure?
According the Harvard business review article, Permission to Fail by Aaron Brown:
A popular misconception is that a risk manager’s function is to prevent failure. The truth is closer to the opposite. An important function of a risk manager is to give permission to fail, which is the only way an organization can succeed….The role of a “risk manager” is to allow creativity which is often a sloppy trial and error approach with its administrative responsibility with its meticulous attention to keep to process and organized work flow.
Maybe creativity is a product of failure and failure is part of practice. How does “permission to fail” apply to communication and Connection Lab thinking? The concept of “permission to fail” is about practice. Rehearsal and practice is the way to proficiency. In communication practice when the stakes are low, practice with your team and colleagues. Experiment with your call to action. What do you want to get better at – and practice.
Need more permission. How about another great Master, the magnificent Julia Child. “If you have a fear of failure, you will never learn how to cook…cooking is one failure after another, it is how you finally learn.”—Julia Child
And, Miles Davis known for musical risk-taking and improvised arrangements that are unique as well as masterful—takes up deep into the well of knowing – that practice is not just proficiency and mastery – it is about innovation.
Permission to Fail is connected to Permission to Succeed.