How to Harness a Failure Budget for Greater Success

When billionaire Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, was young, her father encouraged her and her brother to embrace failure. She recalls, "He would ask us at the dinner table what we had failed at that week, and if we didn't have an answer, he would actually be disappointed."

While her father was not a psychologist, Adam Grant asserts that he had discovered a significant strategy for enhancing his children's chances of success—one that you can adopt for yourself as well. The paradox is clear: to achieve more, you must first be willing to fail more.

Many individuals view failure as something to be avoided at all costs. However, numerous highly successful individuals perceive failure in a different light. Elon Musk, during the formative years of SpaceX, famously told his team, "Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough." Likewise, Richard Branson regards failure as one of the most valuable lessons life offers.

These innovators recognize that stepping outside your comfort zone is crucial for accelerated learning, and that the path to more success often involves attempting numerous initiatives, many of which may not succeed. You've likely heard this perspective before, but how can you truly internalize these insights and motivate yourself to take more risks?

Despite understanding the benefits of failure, the discomfort it brings can be daunting. However, it’s essential to acknowledge that failure is beneficial.

In his book Hidden Potential, renowned Wharton organizational psychologist Adam Grant introduces a practical tool to help you embrace failure, aptly named a "failure budget."

Setting Goals to Embrace Failure

Having a supportive figure like Blakely's father can be invaluable in nurturing a willingness to fail from an early age. If that’s not your experience, Grant recommends explicitly setting a target for the number of failures you aim to achieve over the year. This is a technique he personally employs.

"In 2024, I plan to launch at least three initiatives that fail," he shared with The Australian Financial Review. He understands that if he falls short of this goal, it indicates he’s not pushing himself sufficiently.

This approach was inspired by Irish polyglot Benny Lewis, who challenges himself to make at least 200 mistakes a day while learning a new language. Grant also reflects on his own experiences as a competitive diver, recalling how his coach would encourage him to "overcorrect" in order to improve.

A failure budget serves primarily as a method to help you push through discomfort and encourage ambition and experimentation. It’s also a beneficial strategy when you inevitably encounter setbacks in new projects. Checking off one of your failures from your budget can provide a sense of accomplishment—after all, you are achieving one of your objectives for the year—softening the blow of failure.

Ensure that your failures stem from ambition or innovation, rather than carelessness. Jeff Bezos emphasizes that there are two types of failure: experimental failures arise from attempting something unfamiliar, while operational failures occur from neglecting past mistakes or a lack of effort. Only experimental failures contribute to your growth and merit a place in your failure budget.

Reflecting on Your Failure Goals for 2024

As we are now in June, setting a comprehensive 12-month failure budget might not be feasible, but you can certainly establish a half-year objective. Alternatively, you could aim for smaller, more frequent failures on a weekly or monthly basis. Consider joining Grant in creating a failure budget of some kind. Remember, the more intentionally you fail, the higher your chances of attaining overall success in life.

Explore the concept of unlocking your potential through embracing failure with Adam Grant in this insightful video.

Discover practical tips from top organizational psychologist Adam Grant on how to tap into your hidden potential in 2024.