Warnock: Failing Forward: Turning Setbacks into Strategic Advantage 

Fail quickly and often!

Failure has a bad reputation. We treat it like a verdict instead of a teacher, something to hide rather than something to mine for wisdom. But the truth is this: progress rarely comes from getting everything right the first time. The people and organizations that grow quickly aren’t the ones who avoid failure, they’re the ones who fail forward.

Use failure as fuel (an analogy for our great automotive industry)! It’s the disciplined practice of learning faster than your setbacks can slow you down. I have failed many times in life in our industry. Shift your mind to understand that failure is part of the journey and life.  

Failure is Feedback, not a Finish Line  

Every failure carries information. Something didn’t work—but why? Was it timing, strategy, execution, mindset, or leadership? When failure is treated as feedback, it becomes a data point instead of a dead end.

The danger isn’t failure itself; it’s wasted failure. If nothing changes after a setback, no adjustment, no growth—then the cost of that failure compounds. Failing forward insists that every miss sharpens future decisions.

The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

Failing forward begins internally. Leaders who grow understand that:

• Failure does not define identity
• Failure exposes gaps, not worth
• Failure today can prevent collapse tomorrow.

This mindset creates psychological safety—especially in teams. When people aren’t afraid of blame, they’re more honest about risks, quicker to surface problems, and more creative in solving them. Ironically, embracing failure reduces long-term failure.

Leadership and Failing Forward

Strong leaders model failing forward by owning mistakes publicly and extracting lessons privately. They ask better questions after setbacks:

• What assumptions were wrong?
• Where did we ignore early warning signs?
• What will we do differently next time—specifically?

This approach builds trust. Teams don’t expect perfection; they expect clarity, accountability, and growth. Leaders who fail forward create cultures where learning beats ego and progress beats comfort.

The Cost of Playing it Safe

Avoiding failure often feels responsible, but over time it becomes expensive. Playing it safe leads to:

• Missed opportunities
• Stagnant thinking
• Risk aversion disguised as wisdom.

History shows that meaningful growth—personal, organizational, or cultural—comes from courageous action followed by honest evaluation. Failing forward keeps momentum alive even when results fall short.

How to Practice Failing Forward

Failing forward is a skill, and like any skill, it can be practiced by:

1. Failing fast, not fatally. Take calculated risks, not careless ones.
2. Debriefing honestly. Remove emotion and extract insight.
3. Applying immediately. Lessons unused are lessons lost.
4. Sharing learning. Multiply growth across the team.

Forward Always Wins

Failure is unavoidable. Progress is optional.

Those who fail backward retreat, blame, and repeat mistakes. Those who fail forward adapt, mature, and advance. Over time, the gap between the two becomes enormous—not because one group failed less, but because one group learned more.

Failing forward doesn’t mean you’ll fail less tomorrow.

It means failure will cost you less—and teach you more.

And in leadership, life, and growth, that’s a winning strategy.