Your Attitude Towards ‘Failures’, ‘Mistakes’, or ‘Flops’?

What is

IBM once invested $20 million to start up a business division. After several years, the division resulted in massive losses to the company, and management decided to close down the division.
The Head of the division was called up to the CEO’s office; he asked the CEO; “I guess you called me in because you want to fire me”
The CEO said, “Heck no – we have 20 million dollars’ worth of experience in you. And we have to get that back. So we’re not going to fire you at all”

Mirroring that mindset was Thomas Alva Edison who said, “I haven’t failed 999 times, I’ve found 999 ways how NOT to make the electric light bulb.”

It’s a great attitude towards how we should view ‘failures’, or ‘mistakes’. When we, as an individual, or as an organisation – be it on a family, department, company level, etc – fail to learn from mistakes and extract the valuable lessons in them, then in reality we are impeding progress.
Audits, complaints and personal “muhasabah” (self-reflections) are in fact tools for progress – not for us to find fault and criticism.

When we are too bent on penalising failures or mistakes, we are in turn shaping a culture that is stuck in a loop of mediocrity.
When we are too ignorant or oblivious to failures or lack the initiative to learn, this results in complacency and no room for progress.

We should instill the mindset to bite the bullet – to do the right thing and learn from failures; not be hampered by them.

And this is precisely what the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said:
كُلُّ بَنِي آدَمَ خَطَّاءٌ, وَخَيْرُ اَلْخَطَّائِينَ اَلتَّوَّابُونَ
“All the sons of Adam are sinners,
but the best of sinners are those who repent (i.e. perform tawbah) often.”
(Related by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, graded “hasan”, with a strong chain of narrators.)

Without exception, EVERY one of us are guilty of committing sins or making mistakes. The only differentiating quality among us is how much we are willing to take initiative to swallow our pride, admit our faults, have the conviction to correct them.

If we can understand this need towards progress on an organisational level, then - reminding ourselves that we only have “one shot in life” - this  need for progress is even more so on a personal and individual level.

But why is it, there’s a sense of urgency to improve in organisations, but no such urgency on an individual, personal level - to repent, to change, etc?
Because in organisations, delays in progress means loss : loss in quality, loss in profits, loss in competitive edge, competency development, in valuble manpower, etc.

Likewise, this is the state of “loss” (al-khusr) which Allah describes on every single individual who fails to take initiative for continuous improvement. If we truly understood the magnitude and implications for this loss – we will see the urgency.

وَالْعَصْرِ ﴿١﴾ إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ ﴿٢﴾ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ ﴿٣

“(I Swear) By the Time - 
Indeed, mankind is in a constant state of LOSS;
Except those who have faith and work righteous deeds,
And eagerly advise each other towards the TRUTH,
And eagerly advise each other towards patience.”