Why Do We Make Mistakes?

To close out 2018, I’ve asked Dr. Andrea Simon, Vistage Speaker and corporate anthropologist, to write the following guest blog, “Why Do We Make Mistakes?”

This blog seemed a fitting conclusion to my recent series on habits.

We’ve all been told since childhood to learn from our mistakes. In this blog, Dr. Simon offers us her perspective on the science of making mistakes. We learn why making mistakes makes us smarter and our brains bigger. And why, despite our efforts to learn from them, we continue to make them throughout our lives.

See you in the new year.

Elisa K Spain

You can read more of my blogs and leadership quotes here.

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Mistakes are a natural part of life – there is no way around that. There is no person, alive or dead, who hasn’t made any mistakes throughout their life. The most significant difference, however, is between those who can learn from their mistakes and those who can’t. We may try to even go as far as saying that the secret to success is knowing how to handle errors and failure by treating them as the foundation for future achievements. And the sooner people learn to do that, the better.

But before we can go into more detail about that, let’s take a look at why we make mistakes, in the first place. One of the primary reasons is that life is unpredictable, thus the phrase trial and error. None of us were handed a life guidebook on how to run our lives, and we need to make our way as we go along.

Hopefully, after a series of several mistakes, we begin to learn to stop repeating them. But by this logic, however, we should stop making more errors by the time we reach adulthood – which is not the case. The reason – life is unpredictable and filled with unknown variables. It is even more uncertain in the 21st century. Today’s world is nothing if not fast-paced and the many technological advancements made over the past two decades have seen to that.

It is for this reason why traditional business models are not as viable as they once were. Ironically enough, it would be more of a mistake in the conventional sense of the word, to keep doing things the same instead of employing a bit of trial and error as a means of finding better ways of doing things.

What Can Mistakes Teach Us?

At their core, mistakes teach us things. It is why mistakes are sometimes called life’s lessons. In other words, mistakes teach us how not to do things, and it is up to each of us to realize that. If we look at scientific research, the failure to prove something through an experiment is still regarded as a success since it shows how two things are not connected.

When scientific research can prove a connection, it provides us with some genuinely fascinating insight. Based on a study conducted by, Dr. Michael Kilgard and his team from the University of Texas at Dallas, it was revealed that our brain goes through some significant changes every time we err.

During the learning process, the brain starts compiling the information, and it becomes enlarged. Over time, it begins returning to its original size but keeps the new neural pathways that the mistake generated. In other words, making mistakes makes us smarter by creating more efficient synapses and fundamentally altered neurons.

Encouraging the Right Mistakes in the Workplace

Though it may seem counterintuitive at first, a business will only stand to gain if it encourages mistakes in the workplace. Do please keep in mind that we are not talking about errors that are a result of inattention to detail or sloppiness. We are, of course, talking about the kind of mistakes that are a result of calculated risks.

By embracing these mistakes, employees will gain the necessary confidence to try out new things and not feel bad when they don’t work out as planned. It’s important to remember that many marketers today are employing this strategy. They are continually trying out new ideas (trial and error), figuring out what works and what doesn’t, as a means of driving innovation and remain competitive in the market.

For better or worse, today’s technological revolution demands more mistakes to occur, otherwise risk becoming obsolete. Employ the same mentality on a business management level, not only marketing. Innovation has a sizable chance of happening, and employees are also happier as a consequence.

Nevertheless, making the transition from a company culture where mistakes were traditionally penalized to one that encourages them, does not happen overnight. So, what can be done to facilitate this change?

Leading by Example

In most cases, it’s not enough to send a company-wide memo telling employees that it’s okay to take more risks and that failure is accepted. Old habits die hard, after all, and your staff will be skeptical at first. To counteract this phenomenon, it’s advised that you lead by example.

It’s a generally accepted fact that employees will take most of their cues from their leaders, meaning that management needs to showcase the importance of trying out new solutions. This top-down shift in mentality will not only act as an example, but it will also show that it’s okay for others to do the same.

Encouraging Feedback and Transparency

Feedback and transparency will also play a crucial role in this transition. Your employees should feel comfortable to present their ideas and should not be ashamed of the mistakes that they may encounter along the way. You will quickly come to realize that when everyone feels comfortable to share their ideas and failures, efficiency also increases.

When people are not constrained by fear of shame, they will be more open with each other, which, in turn, leads to closer relationships and better overall communication. Likewise, the free exchange of ideas and mishaps also increases the chance of innovation.

Fast Failure

The concept of fast failure isn’t something new, but it is a product of the 21st century. The idea, in and of itself, is more of a state of mind than anything else. It is based on the idea that mistakes are natural and accepted. So, when they do happen, mistakes shouldn’t be taken to heart. When something doesn’t work as expected, you quickly learn from them and move on to the next idea.

The more efficient use of fast failure is by applying it on a micro level. So, instead of trying an entirely new idea, it’s better to break it up into smaller parts and brainstorm at every stage of the process. It increases the likelihood of success of the original idea while still making mistakes along the way.

Takeaway

The point is that mistakes have a lot to teach us as long as we are willing. The biggest hurdle, however, is to change the heavily entrenched idea that errors are a terrible thing and people should be reprimanded for them.

 

Making the Visible, Invisible

I love dining out. I love live theatre and for me, restaurants are theaters. Like theatre, restaurants create a show for us to experience, including director, actors, staging and lighting.

A couple of weeks ago I had dinner at a local restaurant that is part of a restaurant group. It was an experience in innovation and leadership that I feel compelled to share.

I have eaten at the original restaurant a couple of times and I described the experience as “dinner & a show”.  It’s a fine dining restaurant so one expects special, and they delivered. The “show” in this case is visible, it’s in your face. The goal is to show the patron how creative they are. It is mostly about the way the food is prepared, e.g. molecular gastronomy, liquids that taste like solids, or foam that tastes like celery or the like, but it also is about the presentation (packaging) and the delivery.

This newer restaurant in the group is casual. The menu is simple, the atmosphere is lively and casual. On the surface, no different than many other restaurants. And, yet, from the moment we walked in, I sensed a difference.

What I first noticed was the atmosphere. There was loud music playing, but the room didn’t feel loud. Conversation was at a normal level, we could easily hear each other. The lighting was perfect, bright enough to read the menu, dim enough to be soft and calm. We were seated at the bar which wraps around the kitchen. Again, subtle but significant differences. The chairs had wide soft seats, in short, comfortable. When was the last time you sat on a comfortable bar stool?

Next, was the service. The server was friendly and engaging, dressed in jeans and a cowboy shirt. And yet, much like the atmosphere, it was clear, he was a professional, except for his attire, he would have easily fit at their fine dining restaurant.

Last, of course was the food. And there was the same subtle, yet profound, difference here. The menu was simple, I even questioned my husband for ordering salmon, which we make all the time. I should have known better. Like everything else, the food was anything but ordinary. And, the best part was we got to watch them make it over a roaring fire right there in front of our eyes. There were 5 cooks preparing all the plates, one was the leader, and it took us quite a while to figure out who he was, again, subtle but different.

In short, they delivered an incredible customer experience. And, unlike their fine dining partner, if I hadn’t been looking closely, except for the cooking over the roaring fire, the “show” was invisible. I wouldn’t have even noticed the parts, yet, I would have felt the wonder of the experience.

None of this was accidental, the leadership of this organization knows the business they are in and they ensure they have the talent, culture and process to consistently deliver. They start with the same ingredients as their competition, then they add their secret sauce to the food, to the atmosphere and the service, thereby creating a unique experience. So unique, that it caused someone, me, to blog about it two weeks later.

What this restaurant group teaches us is that customer experience can be delivered visibly or invisibly. It’s up to us to figure out what works in what situation and then, in the words of one of my Vistage members, Gallant Building Solutions, “deliver a WOW experience for every client, every time”.

  • Does your culture allow team members to operate both independently and as a team?
  • How is your product differentiated, even if it is a commodity like salmon?
  • What is your equivalent of atmosphere? Can your customers converse in a normal tone or do they need to shout?
  • Do your customers perceive your  “servers” as true professionals?

Elisa K Spain

You can read more of my blogs and leadership quotes here.

The Challenge of Perception Habits

Recently, I wrote two blogs about habits. The first, here, was about decision fatigue and how activity habits simplify our lives by reducing the number of decisions we have to make. The second, here, was about the dark side of habits, how our response habits can cause us to treat situations that feel similar as the same, even when they aren’t. These response habits can result in unintended damage to our relationships.

In response to the second blog, one of my readers reminded me of another habit that can impact our relationships, both with ourselves and with important people in our lives. I am calling this one, perception habits.

There are two sides to these perceptions, our own and others.

First on the self-perception. Here’s what my reader shared: A while ago, I was at a party and people were talking about whether they liked vanilla or chocolate. I volunteered that I really preferred vanilla. A friend looked at me and asked, what are you talking about? You order chocolate dessert every time we go out. She was right. I had turned into a chocolate person, but I hadn’t ‘noticed’. I defined myself out of habit even though my behavior had changed.

Of course, these self perceptions can be funny like the chocolate/vanilla story or they can stand in the way of our moving forward toward what we want in life.

Similarly, perceptions others have of us can stand in the way when we are trying to change our behavior, and in fact, are changing our behavior. What happens often, especially in long term business and personal relationships is… the recipient anticipates that we will behave as we have historically. This is the other side of response habits. I want to change, you perceive me as unchanged, you respond based on my prior behavior, which may cause me to slip into prior behaviors and on and on it goes.

How do we stop this?

  • When was the last time you really listened to a family member when they are ‘behaving as they always do’?
  • What if instead of responding, you asked questions? Hard to do, I know.
  • What do you do when you aren’t feeling heard? Or feeling judged?
  • What if instead of responding as you usually do, you simply share how you are feeling in the moment?

Could these small changes in response, lead to small changes in perceptions, that then lead to more changes in perception habits, and behavior, and thereby, a more positive circle?

Elisa K Spain

You can read more of my blogs and leadership quotes here.