Failure is not failure — it's experience

“We never fail”. Mentioned by a senior public policymaker in Bangladesh. The issue was innovation in public service.

That’s what I emphasized to senior government policymakers back in 2016, during a series of innovation reforms, policy dialogues, and public events I was involved in.

At that time, I strongly believed that in innovation initiatives, failure is not just acceptable — it is essential. Mistakes are part of the learning process. I advocated for the government to develop a clear policy or guideline that embraces failure as a natural part of innovation in the public sector.

It took a few years, but eventually, I was able to convince senior policymakers to allow space for mistakes and failures in the pursuit of innovation. My key argument was simple yet powerful: failure is not failure — it is experience, it is learning.

This policy-level shift turned out to be incredibly valuable, especially for junior officers who were the real drivers of on-the-ground innovation. It empowered them to take risks without fear.

That remains one of my most meaningful and golden experiences.

What’s your take?

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