Make marvellous mistakes

Make marvellous mistakes

7th October 2024

[Source: The Probe, September 2024]

“Enjoy failure and learn from it. You can never learn from success. Life is a mountain of solvable problems, and I enjoy that. There’s nothing wrong with things taking time.” James Dyson

At my daughter’s primary school the teachers actively encourage making mistakes to take away the stigma attached to ‘getting things wrong’, to use each error as a learning opportunity and of course to understand how to make things better, even if it’s not always right, next time. Termed ‘marvellous mistakes’ we can learn a lot from this positive culture.

The most famous and public celebration of a series of errors is probably by James Dyson when he set out to create the world’s first bag-free vacuum cleaner. 5126 ‘failures’, four years and considerable debt later, the first successful Dyson was launched. James Dyson didn’t actually see the discarded models as failures; each one was a platform for learning, a springboard to something better. They were his prototypes that showed him how and where improvements could be made. Each one gave him the information he needed to progress and continue.

Regular readers will know I am a Kaizen devotee but what better example of incremental improvement can there be than an invention that constantly moves towards its intended version through a series (albeit thousands) of evolutions. Such a developmental journey shows the passion, commitment and belief in the process. 

Kaizen is a Japanese approach used widely in business across the world. One aspect of Kaizen that I admire is its clever system of knowledge sharing. Temporary teams work together, problem-solve and bring about positive change. The teams then disband and join other teams and do the same again within new sectors facing different challenges. They actively develop talent in their teams that are agile and can move within other areas of the organisations and do great things. This couldn’t work unless the teams are supported to try, ‘fail’, improve, fix and succeed – however many times that might take. It’s so inspirational and refreshing. 

Losing the blame culture in all workplace and training environments underpins this idea and leads to innovation through confidence and bravery. Replacing it with a can-do approach applies to learning new skills, trialling ground-breaking technology and absorbing new ways of teaching. As dentists we can’t practice on patients of course but we can be open to learning and honing new skills outside of our clinics. We will make mistakes along the way but they are stepping stones to greater things.

As dentists we are always learning. Eighteen years into my career I regularly attend training courses, study groups and continue to learn from world-renowned endodontists. I absorb the tips and techniques that refine my protocols in day-to-day surgery. I learn from their mistakes, and I’m proud that my students can learn from mine. When I’m training young dentists in endodontics I actively encourage everyone to share experiences, good and bad. I share my own. That has become easier as I’ve grown in confidence. Just as it takes some inner strength to recognise your mistakes, it also takes considerable effort to share them (and your pain) publicly! As with my child’s education, such anecdotes make for excellent learning opportunities.

We all know the relief of knowing when we’re not the only ones having experienced a particular situation. Creating safe spaces to talk about challenging cases or issues is key to using mistakes as ways to learn. Operating within a non-judgemental environment will empower people to ask questions, including those that might be considered basic or obvious. Opening up and making sure that you are all coming from a place of support, kindness and understanding will achieve a workplace or training environment where so much more is achieved; and much more progress made. 

I hope you make and use some marvellous mistakes today.