“Failing forward” is a term we’ve used for years at Service Express. It’s based on John Maxwell’s book of the same name. It’s all about learning from mistakes and embracing them rather than fearing them.
In a recent blog, A Bad Day for the Ego Is A Good Day for the Soul, I talked about collecting mistakes and rejections as a path to personal growth and achievement. This is the secret that most people don’t want to hear about or go through. Everyone wants success, but few are willing to endure the pain of the lessons needed to gain the experience that leads to it. So, how do you embrace this process?
Ian Bremmer, a political scientist I follow on Twitter, shared a perspective on learning from mistakes that stuck with me. Bremmer, who I respect for his balanced approach, made a mistake and owned it publicly. He said that when you get something wrong, it’s important to own it, understand it and then learn from it. The key component of this process is ownership—taking responsibility for the mistake without blaming others.
This aligns with Jocko Willink’s philosophy, outlined in his book Extreme Ownership. Willink, a former Navy SEAL, emphasizes the importance of taking full responsibility for everything in your sphere of influence. We apply this principle extensively at Service Express. The idea is simple: if you want to learn from a mistake, you must first own it. If you deflect blame or avoid self-reflection, you’ll miss the opportunity to grow.
Mistakes hold the gold. They are where experience is gained, and that experience ultimately leads to success. Go collect mistakes, be bold and don’t fear failure. When you do stumble, own it, understand what happened, extract the lesson and grow from it. That’s how you fail forward.
