Mistakes Are Tuition
Over the course of his 84 years of life, Thomas Edison acquired a record 1,093 patents and helped create the movie camera, microphone, the stock ticker, and even an early version of the tattoo gun. Edison famously only slept around three hours per night and could exist on such a small amount of sleep because of his frequent naps. He was also an exceptional promoter and businessman. His company, General Electric, is one of the oldest and most successful companies in US history.
His crowning achievement, however, was the development of the incandescent light bulb. Over a period of several years, he worked to find an affordable and reliable solution to gas-powered lighting. The primary challenge centered around developing a filament that would be durable but cheap. In total, his team tested more than 6,000 possible materials before finding a solution made from carbonized bamboo. The process was expensive and full of prototypes that did not produce the desire results. However, when asked to reflect on these trials, Edison said:
“I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”
Edison’s mindset is worth examining. He did not view the thousands of unsuccessful experiments as failures. Instead, he saw them as the stepping stones that eventually led to the successful prototype.
How We Learn
There is a growing body of evidence that we learn most effectively by experimenting and analyzing the results. When we are young, we learn about the world around us by touching and tasting everything. No matter how many times we hear that a stove is hot, we ultimately have to experience the discomfort of being burned to understand. As a parent of two children, I have concluded that good parenting includes allowing your children to fail in non-fatal ways.
In one recent study, researchers in Singapore examined how seventh-grade math students learned. Researchers divided students into a “direct instruction” group and a “productive failure” group. The direct instruction group learned how to work problems through a step-by-step tutorial from an instructor.
In contrast, the productive failure group was allowed to struggle and fail at solving the problem. After allowing the students to attempt several unsuccessful methods of solving the problem, an instructor would help them analyze the failed attempts and find the correct answer.
The study culminated with a final exam. The productive failure group significantly outscored the direct instruction group on all problem types. The most successful students were productive failure group participants who now could solve problems through several different approaches. The unsuccessful attempts had laid the mental framework for successful mathematical thinking.
The Cost of Wisdom
What are the implications? It means we don’t retain spoon-fed wisdom very well. Instead, our learning correlates to its cost. Several psychological terms describe this tendency, like the sunk-cost fallacy, endowment effect, and the Veblen good.
One recent US Bureau of Labor Statistics study found that college students who worked a part-time job had an average GPA of 3.13, while nonworking students had an average GPA of 3.04. When you are washing dishes to pay for your classes, you are more motivated to absorb the information.
We use the word “tuition” to describe the cost we pay to acquire wisdom and knowledge. Sometimes tuition is financial, but it can also be time, effort, reputation, or physical health. The more tuition we pay, the more deeply the experience impacts our future thoughts and actions.
At Simple Modern, we are deliberate about empowering teammates to make decisions and learn from the results. Sometimes this doesn’t go well. It could take the form of a new product that fizzles out before launch or a marketing campaign that fails to connect with our customers. Over the years, I have made two different leadership mistakes in these situations:
Mistake 1: Responding with frustration, anger, and disappointment. When I react this way, it expresses disapproval. If done repeatedly over time, this creates an environment of fear. It discourages innovative thinking and experimentation. I have learned a simple lesson about leadership – it’s never helpful to get angry.
Mistake 2: Minimizing the situation. It is equally unhelpful to sweep a disappointment under the rug. This behavior can be motivated by a misguided desire to protect ourselves or others. Unfortunately, it discourages honest assessment and introspection. It can also invalidate the disappointment others are feeling.
I am learning to respond differently to these situations. First, no one enjoys the feeling of disappointment. Give yourself and others empathy and grace. That will create a safe environment where real analysis can happen.
After providing some time for introspection and reflection, then do a postmortem analysis. What went wrong? Why didn’t things go as planned? If we could do this project over again, what decisions would we make differently? What unknown weaknesses did this situation expose? Just as Edison’s thousands of unsuccessful lightbulb filaments made his ultimate triumph possible, these clear-eyed evaluations are the foundation of personal development and growth.
When things don’t go well, it creates the perfect environment to grow and learn. We can convert our mistakes into the fuel for our growth. As Henry Ford once said:
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”
Reflection Questions
What is your most recent disappointing outcome? Did you view it as a failure or tuition?
When have you empowered someone else by reframing a disappointing outcome as an opportunity for growth?
What is an example of failing to use a setback or mistake as tuition in your own life?
Who are the people looking to you for leadership (at home, work, personal life)? How can you apply this principle to responding to their misstakes or missteps?
