SpaceX's RUD - Learning from failure
Cate Gregory - Executive, Leadership, Team and Personal Coach
Empowering Women Leaders & Teams to Thrive ?? Leadership, Performance, Executive & Team Coaching ?? Expert in Women’s Development, Training & Facilitation ??EMCC Senior Practitioner & Accredited Individual & Team Coach
SpaceX and Learning from Failure: A Key to Professional Growth
I watched the SpaceX launch yesterday with interest.?I do have some reservations about the chemicals released in the atmosphere during such launches.?When I watched the 100th space shuttle launch they described the wonderful sunsets they had after launches due to the chemicals released into the atmosphere.
Not long into yesterday’s test flight, the rocket suffered what was euphemistically described as a rapid unscheduled disassembly (RUD).?Whilst I love the description, it was what SpaceX engineer John Insprucker said next that really got my attention:
“Now, this was a development test, this was the first test flight of Starship, and the goal is to gather the data and as we said, clear the pad and get ready to go again.”
I have always valued the power of learning from failure and this was a beautiful (and expensive) example.?
Failure is a word that can trigger negative emotions in many of us, such as anger or sadness. However, failure can also be an opportunity for growth and learning, especially in the context of leadership and professional development.?In this post, I will share some insights on learning from failure and turning it into a positive force for change.
First, we must shift our mindset from failure as a personal defeat to failure as a feedback mechanism. When we fail, we get valuable information about what went wrong, what we could have done better, and what we need to improve in the future. Reframing failure as a learning opportunity can reduce the emotional impact and focus on practical lessons.
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Second, we must analyse the root causes of failure and identify patterns or trends that may indicate systemic issues. Failure is not always an individual problem but a symptom of a larger problem that affects the team, the organisation, or the industry as a whole. By understanding the context of failure, we can generate insights beyond the immediate situation and inform our future decisions and actions.
Third, we must experiment with different approaches and solutions to address our challenges. Failure can be a catalyst for innovation and creativity, as it forces us to think outside the box and try new things. By taking calculated risks and learning from our mistakes, we can discover new opportunities and strengths we didn't know we had.
Fourth, we must share our learning with others and create a culture of continuous improvement. Failure is not something to be ashamed of but something to be proud of if we use it to become better versions of ourselves. By sharing our stories of failure and success, we can inspire others to learn from our experience and build a community of learners who support each other's growth.
In conclusion, learning from failure is a critical skill for anyone who wants to succeed in their career and positively impact their organisation. By embracing failure as a learning opportunity, analysing its root causes, experimenting with new solutions, and sharing our learning with others, we can turn failure into a source of strength and resilience. Let's make failure our friend, not our enemy.
For teams to be ready to learn from failure, a good level of psychological safety and trust must be in place for failures to be admitted to and explored properly.?
Compassion, creativity and contribution
1 年That is a thoughtful piece Cate; thank you for sharing it. I reflect on this often. During my high school education, failure was viewed as a negative and to be avoided—a belief I held firm for many years, which still impacts me today. Two valuable insights that helped me were the mantra of actions fail, not people, which allows me to disentangle my relationship with failure. The second I learnt from Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis, whilst I don't specifically think it was designed for failure, reframing as ‘even better if...’ prompts curiosity rather than it being a thought-terminating cliche. I use this regularly, both personally and with colleagues.
Experienced leader in Trade and Retail environments
1 年Great read! How anyone can call someone trying something like this, to get to Mars, a failure is crazy.
Service Delivery | Service Transformation | Customer Success | Executive Coach & Mentor | MHFA
1 年I was discussing this with my partner last night, who happens to be an engineer in the space industry. He was irritated by the media's negative representation of the events that took place. Absolutely this will be seen as a success for what was learned as a result of this. Some aspects of the launch and the behaviour of the spacecraft are not feasible to test before the actual event so they will have received masses of information that will enable them to do better next time. This is part of the process. Failure was also anticipated and planned for, making this a safe experiment.