Use this 4-point checklist to fail productively: Mistakes can teach you ‘what the path looks like,' HBS professor says

Before Jeff Bezos molded Amazon into the world's most profitable online shopping platform, he launched zShops. Formerly called Amazon Auctions, the program allowed third-party sellers to list their products on Amazon. The venture was a massive failure, as sellers found the user experience too complicated.

"I think seven people came, if you count my parents and siblings," Bezos said in his 2014 annual letter to shareholders. "Auctions transformed into zShops, which was basically a fixed price version of Auctions. Again, no customers."

These efforts did, however, lead to the development of Amazon Marketplace, which houses 2.5 million third-party sellers.

Successes like Bezos' or countless other CEOs are usually catalyzed by failures. But not just any kind of failure — productive failure.

Falling short of your goal should clarify what you need to do differently going forward, says Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School and author of "Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well."

A productive failure "taught you something about what the path looks like by saying, 'Hey, guess what? Not this way,'" Edmondson says.

But not all failures do this.

"Really problematic, unproductive failures are the ones that happen when we just are mailing it in," Edmondson says. "Basic failure, where you just are not paying attention. You text and drive and get into an accident. It's a basic failure. There's nothing productive about that."

If you're taking on a new project and want to learn the most from the process, be sure it ticks these four boxes so, even if you fail, you do so productively.

1. Takes place in 'new territory'

Pursue an activity where you have no prior experience.

"If I decide tomorrow to take up the violin, for me, that will be new territory," Edmondson says. "If I decide to write a brand new book that doesn't yet exist, it's new territory, by definition, and there will be failures in both of those activities along the way."

2. You're working toward a goal

Be clear about what you want to accomplish. By acting with intention, you can better track your progress and learn along the way.

The goal doesn't have to be lofty, either. Perhaps you want to run a seven-minute mile. If this is new territory then you're unlikely to make that time on your first run. However, having an anchor can help you stay focused.

3. You've done some research

Just because something is new to you doesn't mean you have to go into it blindly, Edmondson says. Do some homework on where someone at your skill level should start, and what steps you should take to reach your goal.

4. The failure is no bigger than necessary

Don't exhaust your resources on a project you're just learning how to tackle.

"Let's say you have a brand new product," Edmonson says. "We don't know whether it will work or whether customers will like it. What you don't do is announce to the whole world, 'We got this new product' and roll it out at scale."

Instead, take baby steps toward your goal so you can course correct as needed.

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