Error Recovery, Not Failure Avoidance

I came across this during my regular blog cruising:

KEY TO CREATIVITY IS ERROR RECOVERY, NOT FAILURE AVOIDANCE

It’s a blog from Chase Jarvis, a pro photographer who is pretty keyed in to using new media to promote his business.

But what struck me was not how this applied to creativity but how I would apply it to jobs I’ve had and companies I’ve worked for.  Time and again, the more successful companies I’ve worked with, and the jobs I’ve enjoyed exponentially more have embraced this concept.

It’s when a company gets bogged down in failure avoidance that, what was probably an already sinking ship, upends itself and shoots straight for the bottom.

I’m glad to have been able to move away from these companies and continue to look forward to working in environments that aren’t afraid to make mistakes while making forward progress.  It sure beats a stagnant environment that fears failure.