In the world of self-improvement and business advice, a common mantra is to "learn from others' mistakes" with fancy quotes like "You can't make all mistakes on your own" or "Learning from others' mistakes is cheaper and faster". The idea seems legit - by understanding where others went wrong, you can avoid the pitfalls and be on your steady path to success.
But here's the catch: this approach is not as foolproof as it seems. While there's value in observing the missteps of others, applying those lessons directly to your own life without understanding the underlying context can lead to mixed results. Moreover, even trying to apply those lessons is tricky enough.
The real issue is that most people treat these lessons as a silver bullet, ignoring the unique circumstances that led to the mistake in the first place. You do remember that context matters, right? Like a book summary that gives you the key points but not the depth of the narrative, learning from others' mistakes can only take you so far. The real learning happens when you dive into your own experiences, do things and understand the consequences.
This article will explore why the conventional wisdom of learning from others’ mistakes falls short and how you can turn this idea into a more effective strategy for personal and professional growth.
The Myth of One-size-fits-all Application
Many people believe that if they simply avoid the mistakes others have made, they can easily become successful. At first glance, this seems like a fine strategy. After all, why repeat the failures of those who came before you when you can learn from them? The problem is that life (professional life included) is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. The context in which mistakes are made is often highly specific, and removing that context makes the lesson way less useful.
Research in psychology shows that "humans tend to oversimplify the causes of failure, often attributing them to personal mistakes while overlooking external factors" (Mezulis et al., 2004). This phenomenon, known as "the fundamental attribution error", means that when we look at others' failures, we might be missing crucial information that led to those specific outcomes.
A study by the Harvard Business Review found that only 10-15% of companies that attempt to replicate another company’s successful strategies end up succeeding themselves (Raffaelli & Glynn, 2014). The reason is the contextual factors like market dynamics, organizational culture, and timing. As a videogame producer, I can tell that what worked for one company might not work for another because the underlying conditions are different. Sometimes even what worked for one of our games does not work the same way in another game with very similar conditions.
Similarly, in personal development, a study published in Psychological Science revealed that "individuals who tried to learn from the failures of others often failed to apply those lessons effectively in their own lives unless they had similar experiences" (Gino & Staats, 2015). This highlights the difficulty of translating someone else’s failure into actionable insights without the necessary context.
In April, we welcomed a beagle puppy in our family. A puppy, and especially of a hunting breed, requires a lot of training.
While some things can be taught by example (sit, lie down), imagine trying to teach your dog not to chase squirrels by showing them another dog getting scolded for it. Sure, your dog might hesitate the next time they see a squirrel, but without direct experience of why that behavior isn’t ideal (say, getting tangled in the leash or losing sight of you), the lesson likely won’t stick (especially with 5-month old beagle). Your dog needs to experience the situation themselves to truly understand the consequences and learn from them.
The real challenge lies in the fact that even when you understand the context of someone else’s failure, applying that to your own situation requires careful analysis and adaptation. This is where the silver bullet mindset falls short. It assumes that you can simply copy-paste someone else’s solution into your life or business and achieve the same result. In reality, you need to adjust, tweak, and experiment with the lesson until it fits your specific context - basically, making more mistakes but now your own mistakes. Also known as "trial and error".
This leads us to the key takeaway: the most valuable aspect of learning from others’ mistakes is not how to avoid failure but the inspiration to explore further. The insights gained should serve as a foundation upon which you build your own experiences, guided by your unique situation.
Turning Mistakes into Opportunities for Growth
So learning from others’ mistakes isn’t about a direct application but rather about gaining insights. Now what?
Now we start to use these insights as opportunities for growth. The key here is to see mistakes (our own or others’) as learning experiences that bring valuable lessons. When we observe a mistake, it’s important to take it as a starting point rather than a final solution and see what it means for you.
Example: you notice a colleague’s project failing because of poor time management. The takeaway isn’t simply “manage your time better”. You should delve into the specifics: Why did their time management fail? Was it because of unrealistic deadline, poor communication, lack of prioritization? This is similar to what we do during the retrospective, trying to get to the root cause of each failure and success to understand better how to avoid or repeat it, what processes to build around it and so on. And it comes in a format that anyone in the company can use to make themselves aware of our findings.
A study published in the Journal of Business Research found that individuals who engaged in reflective practice - thinking critically about the causes and consequences of mistakes - were significantly more likely to avoid similar pitfalls in the future (Seifert, 2016).
One of the reasons learning from others’ mistakes is challenging is because experience plays a crucial role in how we internalize lessons. A 2017 study published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes showed that individuals who had direct experience with failure were better at learning and applying lessons than those who only learned about the failures of others (Ellis, Carette, Anseel, & Lievens, 2017).
For example, you might read about a company that failed due to a lack of market research. The lesson seems clear: always conduct thorough market research. However, until you’re in a position where you have to navigate the uncertainties of market conditions, make decisions based on inconclusive data, and face the pressures of tight deadlines, the lesson remains theoretical. This highlights the importance of combining the insights gained from others’ mistakes with your own experiences to create a robust learning process.
Teaching Hunter to fetch wasn’t just about watching Luther doing it - it was about Hunter experiencing it firsthand, understanding why it’s fun, and learning through trial and error. Same applies to our professional lives - the real growth happens not from merely watching others stumble but from stumbling ourselves, getting back up and figuring out what works in our unique context.
So, next time someone says, “Learn from others’ mistakes,” ask yourself: Are you really learning, or just avoiding? Remember, it’s not about dodging every possible failure but about embracing the ones that come your way and turning them into stepping stones. After all, the best fetches aren’t the ones caught immediately but the ones that took a few misses first.
And here’s something to chew on: If we only ever tried to avoid mistakes, would we ever really get to the good stuff? Or would we just end up missing the mark entirely?
I think sometimes the detours are the best part of the journey, don't you agree?
