Shaquille O’Neal and I were each raised by a father who unapologetically employed Error Training.
As Shaq described it in a recent interview, “Every time an athlete got into trouble, I would be punished. When Len Bias passed away from a cocaine overdose, my father said, ‘If you ever do coke, I’ll kill you.’ We learned from everyone’s mistakes.”
Similarly, whenever anyone in my high school got into trouble with drugs, drinking, or teenage pregnancy, I got a lecture about it over dinner. Their errors were our lessons.
What is Error Training?
It’s the scrutiny and exploration of errors in order to prevent their recurrence.
Sharing “war stories” about what went wrong or could have gone wrong promotes a culture of reflection and learning. It forces us to think critically about situations and projects in order to identify insights and learnings.
Many professionals (ex: doctors, pilots, fire fighters, military) use Error Training to examine errors like a case study and to question their routine application of skills. This allows them to conceptualize the best approach for managing similar situations in the future – a fast-track to adaptable experience.
While we tend to train people using best practices and success stories, researchers believe that learning from failure is far more effective than learning from success, because errors are more arresting and memorable.
How can we employ Error Training?
- Reframe errors in a positive way – as opportunities to learn
- Inquire about the mistakes people made before they hit success
- Find failure stories and study them
- Encourage team discussions of errors made or near misses to avoid in the future
- Engage mentors – leverage their mistakes
“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” – Otto von Bismarck (former Chancellor of Germany)
