Is this session Paul discusses the importance of accepting failure as a welcome, inevitable and valuable aspect of life in general and innovation in particular. So, a better understanding of risks, supporting those who try, whether they succeed or fail, is key to achieving progress. This is the mission of the Institute of Brilliant Failures: achieve a double fear reduction: people should feel free to come forward with new ideas and to experiment, while on the other hand, one should not be afraid to talk about and learn from failures. In the presentation, we will introduce a methodology to identify and learn from failures and use some examples of Brilliant Failures. The aim is to convince the audience that learning from failure is an integral part of the lean methodology, but that the lean methodology itself an also be improved by learning from failure.

1. Brilliant Failures
Fat Failing in Lean Startup
Prof. dr. Paul Louis Iske, Maastricht University
Chief Failure Officer, Institute of Brilliant Failures

2. The world is getting more and more complex
This requires Dynamic Systems Thinking

3. Dealing with Complexity
•Dealing with Uncertainty
•Dealing with Change
•Dealing with Others
•DEALING WITH REALITY!

4. GAZELLES

5. Who wants to win this prize?
f. You don’t hear them

6. How to prepare Entrepreneurs?

7. How to prepare Entrepreneurs?

8. At Business schools, incubators,
start-up programs, etc. we learn the
skills to start-up a company, but…
More than 90% of start-ups fail!
Who is teaching how to start-down?

9. Business Case
A business case is
a set of lies that
make management
decide what we
want them to decide

10. 1. Terrorist attacks
2. Spiders
3. Death
4. Failure
5. War
6. Heights
7. Crime/Violence
8. Being alone
9. The future
10.Nuclear war
Top 10 reasons for fear (USA)

11. Don’t destroy Entrepreneurial Capital!
Start-up
Knowledge
from theory
+ learning
while doing
Start-down
Knowledge
from practice
Second Chance
Knowledge from
theory + practice
+ learning while
doing

12. 2nd Chance
• How do we deal
with failure?
• Do we allow for a
second chance?

14. Different Perspectives

16. Pace of learning exceeds the rate of change:
L > C
Trial and error is sometimes the only way forward!
Reflection is an important mechanism for learning.
Fast Learning

17. FAILURES
FAIL = First Attempt In Learning
“Sometimes You Earn, Sometimes You Learn”

20. Criteria for
Brilliant Failures
Have Best
Intentions
Eliminate
Avoidable
Mistakes
Experience
Failures
Achieve
Learning or
Create Value
Inspire
Others

23. ARCHETYPES
Einstein Experiment Bridge of The Junk Canyon
Point Honduras

25. Journal of Brilliant Failures

28. Award
for the most valuable
Brillant Failure in Lean Startup

29. FAILURE is AN OPTION
CONCLUSON