Before I was at Facebook, I worked in the wilderness as a freelance designer. During this time, I’d do all sorts of things to make life hard for myself. One of the worst was the “design magician” routine.

I’d land a client, have a few meetings, build up my own brief. Once I felt I had enough information, I’d disappear for a few weeks to go in search of rabbits from my hat.

“Leave it with me,” I’d say heroically. “I’ll be back soon with your solution.”

Now, this type of situation worked pretty well—most of the time. I’d pride myself on listening very carefully to what people wanted. Iterations were seldom and small, and clients were generally impressed with the concepts and how they’d miraculously come into being.

But looking back on it, this was no way to work. And when you mix this style of work with high-profile clients, trying to hit homeruns on a first swing is a recipe for disaster. It was also a sure-fire way to develop a creative block. The pressure I’d unnecessarily place on myself to produce a perfect solution inside my own little bubble was often crippling. Worst of all, it was probably avoidable, if only I’d established a different type of working relationship.

Big failures suck, small failures rule

What designers need more than anything is an environment where it’s safe to try things out. This happens when everyone accepts that things often need to be wrong before they can be right. Failure (and I use this term in the broad sense) is a necessary and valuable stage in the journey to a solution.

After all, there is a hidden success built into every failure. When you’re not emotionally attached to your work, ideas that aren’t quite right shouldn’t upset you—they’re simply feedback on the path to imminent success. So when we fail early and often, we learn faster, we understand the “game” of what we’re doing, and we adapt.

“But failing feels bad!” I hear you say.

I get it. We’re wired to avoid mistakes. Failing is the sort of thing people tend to do when they have no idea what they’re doing. But if you suspend that reaction for a moment, you’d see this beginner’s mindset is exactly where you need to be. It’s the very mode that has allowed kindergarten children to consistently outperform adults in problem-solving exercises.

You too can be a failure

“People always ask, ‘What is your greatest failure?’ I always have the same answer – We’re working on it right now, it’s gonna be awesome!”

—Jim Coudal

At Facebook, failure is openly encouraged. Posters adorn the walls telling us to “FAIL HARDER.” Of course, this type of propaganda isn’t entirely literal. It’s a signpost that’s pointing to something—a mental hack to help sidestep the real danger, which isn’t failure, but rather a fear of it. This mindset, coupled with a culture of openness, keeps our design team comfortable sharing ideas before they’re fully baked.