Driving growth and innovation means taking risks. Making mistakes. Failing faster.

Leaders should encourage people to take time to understand why mistakes happened in order to minimize them in the future. They should openly and proactively discuss past mistakes, not merely for accountability, but much more critically to identify the root causes and lessons learnt. This is how smart teams get smarter.

Role-playing exercises, debates, or even business war games help to think through how a new strategy might play out differently. Try to look at things from a competitor’s point of view to factor in a new perspective and encourage arguments against proposals under consideration.

Mistakes are inevitable and can be costly. Smart leaders don't waste their mistakes — they learn from them. Read Full Post