The challenge of learning through trial and error, not just getting a pat on the back, often leads to better outcomes. When I was a kid, all the neighborhood children, regardless of age, would play sports together. The little ones, like me, hardly stood a chance against the older kids, but they encouraged us to keep playing. I’ll never forget the thrill of hitting my first home run and seeing the older kids cheer because I had managed to do something remarkable. That’s a bit like how women’s college basketball teams improve by practicing with men—they get tougher and more skilled because of the higher challenge.
Both of these examples illustrate that facing a challenge head-on and even messing up a bit is more beneficial than just raking in trophies. Charan Ranganath points out that trial and error learning, like doing practice SAT tests, is more effective than just memorizing vocabulary. In general, learning through trial and error enables you to understand and learn from your mistakes.
When it comes to decision-making and performance, it’s not just about support and positive feedback; it’s also about embracing challenges and gaining experience.
Consider this scenario: Would you prefer competing against an expert, facing a challenge, and learning from the experience, or compete against someone where you clearly have the upper-hand?
Most people would rather spar with an expert and learn something valuable than easily win against a novice. Failure isn’t the opposite of success; it’s a steppingstone to it.
We’re often too scared of failure, avoiding risks even when they could lead to big wins. This fear holds us back in all sorts of ways, from trading stocks to making bold plays in sports. It’s not just about taking risks; it’s about being smart with the risks we take. Take Microsoft’s bold move with AI and Bing—while Alphabet played it safe, Microsoft embraced the chance to innovate.
Our reluctance to embrace new information or consider alternatives can stymie us, as we saw during the fluctuations of the pandemic. Yet, if we analyze, test, measure, and evaluate, we can learn from failure without being paralyzed by it. Kids are fearless experimenters, ever resilient, and we should take a leaf out of their book.
It is interesting watching emerging industries like A.I. and electric cars in considering success and failure. Every day there seems to be a story about emerging success or a bump in the road. In addition, the rewards for the winners will greatly justify the risk. These industries will continue to grow, and the risks taken now could pay off big time in the future.
Experience and practice reduce the challenges and provide support for future success. Many training programs are based on continued training, mentoring and trial and error. Even some aspects of surgery can be practiced on a computer. Hospitals with the most activity in providing a particular service have better results. Making the first souffle seldom succeeds, but practice can make them delectable. It is also beneficial to grow gradually and increase difficulty as you progress. For instance, I was surprised to learn that swimming is more difficult to develop conditioning in than running.
In the end, the real trick is to focus on growth and learning without the pressure of a win-lose scenario. That’s why practice teams for women’s sports emphasize skill development over direct competition—it’s about learning, not just winning.
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Dr. Bert Shlensky, President of StartupConnection.net, has an MBA and PhD from the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. He served as the President of WestPoint Pepperell’s apparel fabrics business & President and CEO of Sure Fit Products. More than 2,000 clients have benefitted from his business acumen over the course of his long career. He now focuses on working with select startups and small businesses. Please visit our website: https://www.startupconnection.net/ for more information.