A post on LinkedIn recently caught my eye, it was a quote from Theodore Roosevelt in response to a criticising comment left about a product being developed to support the fight against Corona Virus.
It made me reflect about how many times I viewed something as a mistake, but actually turned out to be quite the opposite. Next month will be my 25th year as a structural designer in the packaging industry and these so called ‘mistakes’ have not only allowed me to gain experience, knowledge and skills from each of them, but also helped define my career path.
Even though I have access to a sophisticated CAD package and cutting tables, I still to this day prefer to cut new pack designs by hand, using a pencil, ruler and scalpel. This gives me the feedback and feel as the innovation comes together, unlike using CAD, it gives a real sense of how the board will react, where you can cheat and bow, or arc the board in real life, something you cannot do with a digital file. The one thing this method also does, is sharpen your knowledge of allowances for designs and materials, your thought process is much more agile and responsive. It also makes you think twice before cutting something, as making a mistake after you have just spent the last hour measuring and creasing is a frustrating situation best avoided. So why would I saying you should not be afraid to make mistakes then, because for me, it is the best way to learn and grow. Through these experiences, I have now developed a thought process for creating hand samples and certainly make less mistakes, but will definitely not try to convince you I am perfect!
‘To err is human’ as the old saying goes, but it’s our own natural pressure we place on ourselves to not get things wrong or make mistakes. We do not want to be seen as failures, not capable of our role by our managers or leaders, so first it might help to understand why mistakes or failure can be seen as bad for business.
Nowadays designers are under greater pressure to perform more and this performance is more often than not measured in KPI’s, be that the number of enquiries processed or designs created, but not measured on the quality produced, or learning gained. Due to these pressures to perform and provide results, it is much more difficult for businesses to allocate time, resources and budgets to experimenting or failing, which is understandable. However if you look at it from another perspective and also history, a great number of inventions like the post it note, bubble wrap and super glue, were all created accidentally whilst trying to develop something different. That is the key word for me, ‘trying’ when debating the words mistake or failure. Did you set out to get it wrong, or did you use the skills, knowledge and experience to the best of your abilities at the time?
Whilst trying and making a mistake can be seen as taking a risk, mistakes are not necessarily a bad thing, but this does obviously depend on the size of the risk. I would not suggest risking everything, be that financially or resources, but I have in the past made samples or designs that I knew would fail. This was to understand why and where things could go wrong, the cost? An hour of time and a few sheets of corrugated, which provided insights to develop the pack and improve the next design. Over the years, I have also learned not to hide these failures or mistakes from customers when presenting new innovations, as it highlights that you investigated all avenues and explored all options to bring them the best solution.
As hard as it is to accept that you made a mistake or failed, try embracing it and turning a perceived negative into a positive. The biggest problem I see with making mistakes or getting things wrong, is not that you made it in the first place, but if you do not step back and take on board the learning or experience, then this is not only a mistake, but also a lost opportunity.
When you feel you have made a mistake, ask yourself, what could you avoid next time, did it give you a new direction or thought process to follow? It is essential to document with images and videos, as it may help to review your learning and experience later. A number of times I have used the slow motion capture from my phone during testing, which has allowed me to review how the box warped or creased from the impacts and it has proven vital to understand where the design failed.
I recently experienced the ‘learning from a mistake’ during a die cutting machine trial, where I was trying to making corrugated flexible for a new design, a blank got stuck in the machine and double pressed. It meant that the board was creased much more than expected, but had not torn the liners with the additional pressure, so this mistake led to the die cut tooling rule heights being increased and giving the desired result. It is important to keep in mind though, when you really start to push the limits of materials, machines and designs, the risk of mistakes become greater, so it becomes even more important to learn each time this happens.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein
Innovations can come along at the most unexpected times and sometimes it can be a complete mistake when you created it, but the timing might not be right for your innovation just then, so do not be disheartened by these occurrences. It is also important to remember, that even the best can take a little time to learn from their mistakes. When James Dyson invented his first Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner, he spent 15 years creating 5,126 versions that failed before he made one that worked. The payoff was a highly successful multi-billion pound company known for its creative and innovative designs.
It’s interesting to see, that even on a platform like LinkedIn, how many people hide behind a computer screen and criticise others for trying, or making what they consider are mistakes. For all those that do, I challenge you to put yourself out there, show your work for everyone else to comment on. It is certainly not the easy option, to put yourself out there and make a statement, but it is the best way to grow in knowledge and experience. Be proud of who you are and do not let keyboard warriors or anyone else criticise you for trying, because at least you will have gained experience and knowledge whilst they just sat there. I am one of those people, that even if I disagree with what you wrote, created or thought, I will always have respect for you trying, as I know how much effort it takes and at least be constructive in any feedback, or understand why you had that opinion.
Finally, these are the words I read in the post, which caused me to reflect and inspired me to write this article. I hope they inspire you to keep trying, even when you feel like you have made a mistake and times are difficult…
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt
