You often hear that failure provides an opportunity for learning. Indeed, it is intuitively appealing to assume that people will use their failure experiences as means toward finding success.

A chemist at the 3M research lab had been working to develop an adhesive strong enough to be used in the construction of an aircraft. One of those many failures resulted in a thin, weak substance that ...

Sure, risking failure is important. Not stupid failure – the kind that comes from testing the depth of water with both feet. Rather the well-considered variety: the ‘intelligent failures’ essential to ...