Failure is hard. However, it can also provide a unique opportunity for growth. Turning feedback from a failed project into improved creative problem-solving skills begins with adopting a growth mindset and viewing failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. From my experience, I found gathering feedback from all stakeholders and categorizing issues into themes like planning, execution, or communication very helpful. Breakdown feedback into actionable plans, identify recurring patterns, and brainstorm alternative solutions by encouraging diverse perspectives within your team. That way, you create a foundation for targeted improvements. Finally, always document lessons(what worked, what didn't) properly for future use.

Creativity emerges when failure is not a shock but an opportunity. Founder of Whole Foods, John Mackey on The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish shared he had reasons to consider his first store a disaster. Built in 1980 in a 100 year flood zone, his optimism left him believing the flood wouldn't happen. He took the risk and a flood happened in the first year. The failed project says John, "Had some good things to it. The thing I didn't know about stakeholders then that I didn't have language for but I experienced, people that love your business...They were neighbors, customers that didn't want us to die. They loved us". With the failure you discover stakeholders that take action and help drive a compelling vision of what's next.

Failure can definitely be tough, but it’s also a chance to learn and push past our limits. The first step is to figure out exactly where things went wrong — identifying the key points where the project started to slip. Once we’ve got a clear understanding of the problem, it’s time to set up a brainstorming session with the team. This gives everyone a chance to offer different perspectives and encourages all kinds of ideas to be discussed and explored. Finally, from the ideas we come up with, we can test and implement the best solutions to move forward.

For anyone who hasn't read the book 'Range' by David Epstein, I can't recommend it enough. To paraphrase (poorly) from the book: failures are powerful growth opportunities, but only if you are willing and able to 'drop your tools'. The easiest way to fumble a failure's learning opportunity is to hold on to the "this worked for me in the past, so how do I make it work here" mindset. You must be humble enough to accept that your past experiences and successes are irrelevant. The answer lies in stepping fearlessly (and quickly) into uncharted territory.