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I recently presented The Power Of Fail at Ignite Phoenix. You can view the presentation here. In reviewing the presentation it seems to me that I was unclear about what the Power Of Fail Actually is. The five minutes allowed gave me the opportunity to encourage people but not explain fully. Over the next couple weeks I will post a few articles that explain further what the power of fail is and what it isn’t. Let us start with two simple lists.

The Power Of Fail is…

• A proven method to manage failure
• A time honored tradition of experimentation
• An attitude you can incorporate into your processes
• A system of failing gracefully
• A method to achieve greater success
• The freedom to make mistakes and learn from them
• Essential for real innovation
• A culture of success

The Power Of Fail is not…

• A dogmatic process or paradigm
• A culture of fail
• A panacea
• A way of life
• A way to avoid proper planning
• Anything new or created

Simply stated: The Power Of Fail is an attitude that fosters innovation by allowing you to make mistakes and a system for failing gracefully.

The attitude is one where we are free to experiment. The system is one where our experimentation is greater early in a project and less in the final stages. We are free to innovate while at the same time managing risk as appropriate for the stage of a project we are in.

Nobody created the Power Of Fail. The Power Of Fail is something I’ve observed while watching or working with people who truly foster a culture of innovation. In observing these highly successful people I noticed some common threads. They may have different processes, abilities, and levels of organization and administration but they all embrace the power of fail in one way or another. They all allow employees to experiment and try new things. They all promote informed risk taking. This is the essence of the Power Of Fail

One key to understanding The Power Of Fail is to understand that it does not replace or add to any processes you currently use. Instead you weave The Power Of Fail as a thread into your current processes. In upcoming articles I will provide some concrete examples. For now just understand that you should experiment and try new things. You should expect that not all will succeed. However, once you do fail you should study the failure and understand why you failed. Finally, you should expect to experiment more early on than later in a project.