“Failure wasn’t failing. It was learning.”

I heard these words from Dr. Mark Dean years ago when I first learned about him during Black History Month. He was talking about his upbringing and how education was consistently prioritized by his family. But to Dr. Dean, education included more than just academics. He believed success came from adopting a “tinkering mentality” as he describes it – a seamless swirl of building, taking apart, playing, breaking, fixing.??

Who is Dr. Dean??

He’s most well known as a co-inventor of the personal computer. He holds three of IBM's original nine patents related to the PC and several others.?

But he didn't stop there. He co-invented the ISA system bus. This enabled the expansion of PCs through plug-in peripherals like disk drives and printers.?

He’s also the first African American IBM Fellow – the company's highest level of technical excellence – as well as a National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee.?

?Most importantly, he’s a steady force that is humble and inspiring, and he can make others believe that anything is possible.?

But his family taught him that bigotry is learned - and can?be unlearned through exposure to different perspectives.?

Learn to Unlearn?

Dr. Dean was born in 1956 and grew up in a small town where his parents and grandparents shaped his values and aspirations. His grandfather, a history teacher and principal, taught him the importance of embracing diversity and overcoming prejudice, while his father's knack for tinkering inspired a fearlessness towards failure and a passion for problem-solving. If you tinkered and broke something, that’s ok.?Keep messing around with it. Learn how to fix it. Make it better, or just simply start over.??

Outside the home though, things were different. Racism was pulsing through society. While opportunities and freedoms seemed to exist on paper, the lived experiences of Black Americans were much different. ?

But his family taught him that bigotry is learned - and can?be unlearned through exposure to different perspectives. And something like bigotry wasn’t going to stand in the way of achieving goals. So, he mapped out a 35-year career plan – at the age of 22. And in a massive understatement, he did what he set out to do.?

How did he do it? ?

I’ve thought a lot about Dr. Dean and the DNA of his success, and how as a business leader, how I can instill these traits in my organization and myself.?

Here are the three key principles that have transformative power when applied to yourself or to your teams:??

1. Prioritize collaboration and learning from others. Acknowledge the contributions of colleagues and mentors – and become a mentor if you aren’t already. This is paramount in achieving success.?
2. Provide space to innovate. Tinker around. Explore. Follow an idea and see where it leads. This is all part of the mindset of embracing risk and failure as learning opportunities on the path to pursuing excellence. Dr. Dean says he found immense joy and fulfillment in his work, particularly during his first ten years, when he had the freedom to experiment and innovate.??
3. Set your bar high. Hold a steadfast belief in the power of setting and pursuing ambitious goals.?

?And remember that failure is an integral part of success, as long as you learn from it. Happy tinkering.?

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