Failure costs money. A missed deadline or a design flaw can lead to significant project setbacks. A safety oversight could bring danger.
Yet, there’s a growing belief in business that failure is an essential stepping stone to success—a notion driven by stories of entrepreneurs who bounced back after multiple failed ventures. However, this romanticized view of “learning from one’s mistakes” is misleading.
The Risks of Overstating Failure’s Upsides
In the tech sector, the philosophy of “failing fast and often” feeds the idea that every failure is a learning opportunity. While mistakes can offer some lessons, this mindset overlooks a critical truth: failure is only beneficial if people learn from it.
“Teachers, coaches and commencement speakers try to be inspirational when it comes to failure,” says Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, an assistant professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the Kellogg Insight article, “Why We Shouldn’t Romanticize Failure.”
“But we find that being too inspirational—exaggerating the benefits of failure—is actually de-motivating,” Eskreis-Winkler adds. “The takeaway is that when we talk about failure, we should aim to be accurate.”
Research from management experts, like Eskreis-Winkler and her colleagues Cornell’s Kaitlin Woolley, Yale’s Eda Erensoy and Columbia’s Minhee Kim, suggests that people often overestimate the chances of succeeding after failure. In fact, their studies reveal that we frequently assume individuals will bounce back and improve after a setback, even though the reality is often different.
For example, an estimator might assume that a failed project bid is just part of the learning curve. He writes it off to time and chance, thinking “it will work out better next time.” Instead, he should take concrete steps to analyze the bid and work at preventing any computational errors in it from happening again.
Construction Is Not Silicon Valley
Unlike Silicon Valley, where rapid experimentation is encouraged, the construction industry values stability and reliability. Clients expect projects to be completed on time and within budget. In our field, failures often lead to costly rework, strained relationships and reputational damage that can take time to repair. A specialty contractor who consistently fails to meet expectations might not get another chance to prove themselves—regardless of how much they claim to have learned from past errors.
Moreover, the structure of construction projects involves multiple stakeholders—clients, architects, engineers, suppliers and other trades—all working in tandem. A failure in one area can ripple through a project. This interconnectedness amplifies the consequences of failure and underscores the importance of getting things right the first time.
Also, if you and others in your firm assume that failures automatically lead to future success, you may invest less in training, quality control and other preventive measures that could prevent failure in the first place. You may not consciously make such cutbacks, but attrition in these programs can occur over time if you fundamentally believe that failure naturally leads to growth.
Handle Failure Correctly
Rather than viewing failure as a badge of honor, it’s crucial for construction pros to take a clear-eyed approach. When mistakes happen, focus on understanding what went wrong and implementing corrective measures. Without a willingness to critically analyze mistakes, the lessons go unlearned, and the same errors are likely to happen again, Eskreis-Winkler’s research shows.
In short, what should you do? Adopt a proactive attitude toward problem-solving. When issues arise, the priority should be on taking responsibility for the mistakes and finding solutions for them. This approach fixes problems and fosters a reputation for reliability and excellence for your firm. Ultimately, the research says that learning from mistakes requires active effort, not passive optimism.
