{"id":268068,"date":"2025-02-03T15:47:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T20:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/?post_type=sessions&p=268068"},"modified":"2025-02-11T13:42:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T18:42:37","slug":"destigmatizing-failure-to-encourage-innovation-with-dan-ward","status":"publish","type":"sessions","link":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/sessions\/destigmatizing-failure-to-encourage-innovation-with-dan-ward\/","title":{"rendered":"Destigmatizing Failure to Encourage Innovation with Dan Ward"},"content":{"rendered":"

Listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts!<\/em>
\nApple podcasts<\/a> | iHeartRadio<\/a> | Spotify<\/a><\/p>\n

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Failure is often seen as something to avoid, but Dan Ward sees it as a gateway to innovation. Dan is a military technologist, author, USAF veteran, and innovation catalyst at MITRE Corporation, and he and Lou talk about the profound lessons failure can teach. Drawing from his book LIFT: Innovation Lessons From Flying Machines That ALMOST Worked and The People Who NEARLY Flew Them, Ward shares stories of pre-Wright brothers (more accurately pre-Wright siblings) aviation experiments that, despite ending in failure, laid the groundwork for modern flight. He explains how studying and learning from setbacks can drive innovation and problem-solving in any field.<\/p>\n

Dan shares his innovation team’s unique approach to failure: celebrating it with \u201cfailure cake.\u201d This ritual helps his team process setbacks, learn from them, and destigmatize failure in a supportive environment. He also emphasizes the importance of storytelling, arguing that even the best ideas are meaningless if they can\u2019t be communicated clearly. The conversation highlights how embracing failure and sharing its lessons are essential for growth, whether in aviation, design, or technology.<\/p>\n

Mark your calendars! Lou announces that Dan will headline Rosenfeld Media\u2019s first Failure Friday<\/a> on February 7, 2025, where he\u2019ll further discuss the failure cake practice.<\/p>\n

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:<\/strong><\/p>\n