Are You Ready To Embrace Failure?

Oh well, I found this article interesting... Forgot where I have copied it from. Anyways, benefit can still be availed without the source. Isn't it?

Are You Ready To Embrace Failure?

• Do you keep your mistakes to yourself?
• Do you try new things only if you are sure you can succeed?
• Do you become very cautious after something does not work out?
• Do you try to immediately forget your failures?
• Do you think failure is shameful?

If you have answered "Yes" to one or more of these questions, you are probably not ready to embrace failure.

A mind shift we need is realization that failure is the rule rather than the exception. This begs intellectual honesty. Failure is a promising area of investigation because it is such a common experience. Yet, it is a secret that is never spoken out loud.

About Failure

About Failure  (taken from http://www.adb.org/documents/information/knowledge-solutions/embracing-failure.pdf )

Successful individuals, groups, and organizations fail much more than they succeed.
However, their larger success derives from the fact that they fail well. The difference
lies in their perception of and their response to failure. In a word, they treat it as a process. They

• appreciate that failure is not avoidable, objective, a single event, a stigma, the enemy, or final;
• understand why they made the decision they took based on the information they had;
• assess their decisions based on what they knew at the time;
• judge the systemic errors they committed in under- or overestimating difficulties, costs, timelines, abilities, etc.;
• examine whether they had all the information they needed;
• investigate what successes are contained in the failure and draw dividends;
• plan to obtain more and better information to underpin future decisions;
• use the experience to build and work from strengths; and
• set a new goal, order their plan, take action, reevaluate progress, and adjust continually.

Literature has not yet clearly described the process of learning from failure in organizations. (For individuals, it is in any event shaped by individual experience, knowledge, attitudes, skills, aspirations, and behaviors.) Moreover, the significance of learning is not necessarily proportional to the scope of failure. Simply put, however, the process of embracing failure must involve identifying mishaps; discussing and analyzing them in a spirit of inquiry and openness; and dealing with controversy and disagreement productively. Needless to say, progress will hinge on the existence of shared, constructive beliefs, for instance, vis-àvis performance outcomes. These will in turn depend on effective coaching and mentoring, clear direction, and a supportive and enabling workplace environment and culture. The barriers to this lie at individual, group, and organizational levels.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness  of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed
me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.     —Steve Jobs

At Sangeet Sandhya, 90th Concert Series with Priya Kanungo (Vocal Classical)

Ok.. so after I came from the Dalai Lama's talk, I had time to make it to Sangeet Sandhya where Priya Kanungo recited Vocal Classical. Jupinder was with me. Enjoyed the music but the synchronization between the instrumentalists was not very good and was apparent. Yet, overall it was a good enjoyment. Came home after a self-treat of papadi chat and Tikki (Jupinder had tikki and I, chat :-) in the freezing cold.

I was at The Dalai Lama's talk in New Delhi Today !!

I got to see H.H. The Dalai Lama... Live, today !! while he spoke on "The Different Levels of Happiness" at Sir Shankar Lal Hall of Modern School in New Delhi (Barakhamba Road). It was an occasion of Tushita's XIX Dharma Celebration. As of now I dont know what it is, except that they have a meditation center called Tushita's Mahayana Meditation Center. So, here it was - The Dalai Lama was called as a chief guest and I think it was only his speech, of which this celebration was comprised of.

Well, this photo is not from the same function, nor it is clicked by me (with all due credits to the original owner of this picture). But I decided to put it here to bring a deeper involvement through the visual factor. Anyways, so, there were people - the attendees - most of them from Tibet, I suppose, as they have different cute faces. But there were from other regions as well - Europe, Bangladesh I am sure. For me, the attraction was to see the Dalai Lama live !! He was accompanied by his language helper on the stage and another Lama and a lady who I think was just one of the members of organizing committee only.

As far as my liking of his theory is concerned, I only know the basic subject he focuses on and I would say yes I like it. It is that every human being's main objective and right is to find happiness. and happiness comes from compassion. He always tries to teach you how one can develop compassion. Rest, as he goes deeper, I am not able to understand many of his concepts and also I do not try hard to understand. Just that it is nice and feels good to observe how our spiritual leaders conceptualize/teach/practise/view these human values and spiritual content. The program was to start a 3:00pm and I think I reached there 5 mins before.. but yet the program had already started. The crowd was huge, I had not thought this aspect. He was being projected on the LCD screens even outside the hall and many people were sitting there as well on chairs. I stood there for sometime and then went near one of the doors of the hall, where some people were standing, perhaps to get an entry inside and they were not getting it perhaps, I don’t know. After few seconds only, somehow I got to enter the hall and saw The Dalai Lama sitting on the stage decorated with flowers, with the language helper, a Lama and a lady. People were sitting cross legged everywhere in the hall. I found some space in almost middle of the length of the hall. So, it went on. I like the way he cracks jokes.. like a child. His sense of humor makes him gesture beautifully funny and involves people in laugh and he laughs afterwards. While he was telling about the deep meditation and how we just not need close eyes and sit still, he told with actions that if that would be meditation, then he believes rabbits and pigeons also meditate (he was referring to their habit of becoming still) ha ha. In another example he told how he could make a very good conversation (he meant, he felt good by making conversation) with someone because his English was little better than that man's english.. :-) . Actually sometimes he falters during the English speech and so he takes help from a language expert who is always with him at such talks.

The session ended at around 4:20 when he asked for questions. Organizers decided to take questions on pieces of paper and passed on to the lady on the stage who would read those questions to the Dalai Lama while he answered those one by one. I also had a question but my turn never came because there was huge number of questions. Finally at around 4:50, the other Lama on stage read vote of thanks, after which people came near to stage and The Dalai Lama made casual greetings with people, waved and shook hands to few lucky ones from the edge of the stage. Then People came out of the hall and stood in two rows leaving space forming an aisle. The Dalai Lama sat in his car which drove him through that aisle, with two cars of bodyguards one in front and another behind, while he waved his hand at people. People joined together their hands to pay their respect and also some of them murmured prayers. Some of them were carrying flowers in their hand, which I guess were from the stage where Dalai Lama was sitting. So, I would say it was a different and good experience for me. :->

Books on the list next

The rules of wealth by Richard Templar
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
The logic of life by Tim Harford