Failing Can Be Fun?

I was recently asked what someone should expect walking into Blue Belt at the Eureka! Ranch. The honest answer comes down to two things.

1. Expect to fail. It's key to your success.

Our patented Cycles to Mastery approach doesn't expect students to get an assignment right on the first try. Most don't. Submissions come back marked with a red X more often than not, and students are expected to revise and resubmit, sometimes more than once, until the work holds up. There's no penalty for missing the mark. There's only a penalty for not going again.

Somewhere in all that failing and revising, something shifts. Students stop seeing the red X as a stop sign. It becomes a signal to pivot, adjust, and go again. That mindset is exactly what real projects demand, because those almost never work the first time either.

And it works. One group of 20 leaders ran real projects from their own jobs through the course and walked away with $1.98 million in projected annual margin growth, 36 days of manual reporting eliminated, and a preventative maintenance system projected to save over $100,000 a year.

2. Expect fun and enjoyment too.

It is hard to but the emotional feeling into words, but you get energy and strength from meeting and working with people that have your same aspirations… and struggles. It's validating. It's also pushing… it gives words to feelings you've probably been having for years, of latent potential that didn't have a home or a direction. And the opposite too: you realize you were more ready than you thought you were. That even though you're not 'creative' in your mind, you totally can be. You learn that imperfection is still progress, and people are stretching, struggling, and learning with you, so it's not so lonely being new and awkward at a new thing. But you get massive energy, even though your mind will be the best kind of tired.

Credit to the coaches and the cohorts who make that possible. Fail enough times in good company, and it feels like an awakening or new mindset.

Quotes from Student Reflections:

"It was made clear at the beginning of day one, throughout class, and into the homework assignments, that it is OK to fail. As someone that wants to be perfect, this was big for me!"

"Wow, even though warned repeatedly that I was going to fail many times on my certification assignments, I never thought it was going to be THAT SO MANY times."

"Nevertheless, Innovation Engineering, and the amazing staff of Eureka Ranch, made the learning experience fun, relevant, and very practical."

"Going through this process with my colleagues and supporting them, having them support me, catching up on where they were in the process, and sharing ideas with each other has done wonders for our camaraderie."

"Not a day would go by without one of us asking the other where they were with their Blue Belt project. Even the friendly competition with who would get theirs done first (not me, clearly) was exciting."

"I was blown away by the level of engagement from my attendees and the ideas they contributed... I would say facilitating this create session was the most fun I had in the course. I was nervous beforehand, but this class gave me the tools to do it and once we got going it was an exhilarating and fun challenge."

"Not only did I learn an immense amount through this course, but I also had fun."

"I credit the ranch to jumping in! Fail fast! Thank you to our amazing instructors. I appreciated the cozy hospitality at The Eureka Ranch and am excited to INNOVATE!"

You can read the full collection of student reflections here.