Failing Forward

As I’ve shared before, the thrill of travel is a passion of mine.  The excitement of venturing beyond your local area, immersing yourself in a different culture, and engaging with new people is an experience like no other.  The rejuvenation I feel upon returning home is a testament to the power of travel.  It’s this joy that keeps me from ever growing weary of it.

I was on two Delta Air Lines flights to the Twin Cities, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, Minnesota, yesterday. (Delta may be my favorite airline again; more on that in a later post after we return home.)

During one of the flights, I watched a series produced by Delta called Gaining Altitude. The episodes were interviews with current or former CEOs of large companies about their thoughts on leadership. They all focused on putting people first, which will be the topic of a future post(s).

Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta Air Lines, shared a profound insight about failure. He advised that when we stumble, we should ensure it’s a step forward. This resonated with me as a call to be forward-thinking and glean wisdom from our missteps. Conversely, failing backward would be a missed opportunity to learn and a risk of repeating the same mistake.

We all have failures of some kind. Thinking back on my failures, when I failed forward, the outcome was better than failing backward.

Have you ever experienced a ‘failure forward ‘? I’d love to hear your story and how you turned a setback into a stepping stone. Let’s build a community of learning and growth by sharing our experiences!

What can I do for you?

-B