Bridging the Fear of Failure: Through Design Thinking
by Ryan Neufeldt
Embracing failure.
Failure is one of the primary mechanisms by which we learn. So, we need to be able to embrace our failures with grace, because figuring out how to deal with those setbacks is imperative for developing insights from which to move forward.
If there is one aspect to Design Thinking that scares the bejesus out of most companies and makes them tentative to implement it within their organization, it’s embracing the notion of fail fast. Pouring money into research and rapid prototyping, only to find out that your product has zero value to consumers and is not viable, can seem… scary. Failure is tough. Celebrating it seems ridiculous and can steer companies back into those comfortable waters of old, spending years collecting data and crafting one big singular rollout to try and get it right the first time. It worked before — why can’t it work now? Well…to quote the famous inventor Charles Kettering “If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.”
Be in the moment.
Companies who plan too much in advance miss so many opportunities that present themselves by not being nimble enough to change direction at a moment’s notice. It leaves them vulnerable in adapting to changing markets and the immediate needs of their customer. Planning phases can definitely be a part of getting you ready to undertake a project of value; however, crafting and failing fast gets you into your project immediately and more importantly consistently gaining insights while creating your product. You save money by learning what works and what doesn’t sooner in the process. It’s can be the difference between making a product for a future that may not even need it, or want it for that matter, and making the right product for now. We need to be brave enough to accept that we aren’t perfect, and our assumptions can be wrong. Companies that embrace this philosophy and dive into iterative fail early prototyping evolve dynamic creative cultures — without the traditional constraints attached with the worry or reprisal of jobs being on the line if we make a mistake.
Buying into change.
Change is such an interesting thing to go through. It causes us to re-evaluate the things we have become comfortable with. So many of us don’t like this uncomfortable feeling. We like the control, the routine, and adherence to the norms of the world we live in — because it works for us. However, being complacent and comfortable inhibits us from growth. It becomes the antithesis of stimulating innovation and creativity. The key to breaking out of this trap is empathy. Trying to understand each other and what value we can bring to enrich our collective world fosters understanding and a culture of growth. Empathy allows us to help each other when we fail together and learn from these mistakes.
You are part of the equation!
The magic of Design Thinking is that whether it js businesses, a person, or governments — “You” are part of the formula. Empathy and understanding don’t just extend to customers, it’s also you, the employees, and all of those people in your value chain. If we are motivated to understand these needs, we can utilize Design Thinking to find direction and build deep empathetic roadmaps through these lenses. With each failure, we gain new insights — learning together and becoming better at refining our vision. When we embrace our mistakes and grow from them, we can achieve faster insights, leading to greater leaps in innovation. Through empathy, we can not only create a deeper connection with our customers, but within our businesses themselves and adopt more socially responsible patterns. Then… when we do fail, or markets change, we know what to do. Empathize, define the problem(s), ideate, prototype, test, repeat.
