Pinterest Fails + Staff Development

I know this might seem like a strange title, but I like to take what happens in life and see how it applies to business. And my life, and I'm sure yours, is full of awesome lessons.

When my oldest child was born, I was committed to creating lots of things from scratch. "No store-bought valentines for my girl" - said a much younger and much more energetic me. But here's the thing: I'm not that artsy. I can come up with the idea, but creating a superhero out of a lollipop or a butterfly out of an empty roll of toilet paper just isn't my strong suit. So, no surprise, my girl's first few years' of valentines were not stellar.

Here's the lesson: Pinterest fails happen...it's just a fact of life.

While I was hard on myself for a time, it dawned on me that I didn't have a baby and magically become artsy. It takes time and effort and skill.

It's like that with staff development too.

We want our staff to make a change and immediately be successful, but that isn't always realistic. They need time and effort and practice.

So celebrate those "Pinterest fails!"

It means they are learning.

I'm not saying you let them fail forever, but giving them a safe place to try and fail and learn while they practice and build their skills - well, that is a Pinterest win.

What’s one thing you’ve learned from failure?