Innovation involves risk, and we have all tried new things that didn’t work, some spectacularly. Come to share and listen to how we cope and grow from our failures in this support group for innovators. How do you recognize what didn’t work? How do you know when to improve the project and try again or when to scrap it? Who determines success? How do we stay positive about our work despite the setbacks?

1. Learning from Failure
A Support Group
Andrea Coffin WiLS acoffin@wils.org

2. Think about something at work that didn’t go
as well as you would have liked.
1. What were the successes?
2. What aspects were less successful?
3. What was your reaction?
4. What was within your control?
5. What would you have done differently if you could do it all over again, the same thing with the same
people under the same circumstances?
• Planning
• Preparation
• Execution
6. What did you take away from this experience to improve the outcome for next time?
7. Did you make it a point to spend time reflecting on what went wrong? Does that reflection tend to be
positive or negative?

3. What are the
challenges to “failing
forward”?

4. How can we avoid the
“blame game”?

5. How can we avoid
becoming defensive?

6. How do we create an
environment where
failure isn’t equal to
catastrophe?

7. What themes are
emerging in our
conversation?