Sometimes, failure is the best option.

Learning can be a difficult thing. We all learn in different ways. If we are smart about learning, we will realize that failing is the best way to learn. When Bethany (my daughter) was only 18 months old, she could speak in full paragraphs. She would speak so coherently, we had a hard time remembering that she wasn't three years old. She would carry on complete conversations without missing a beat. When Ben (her older brother) was the same age, he knew very few words compared to her. You might think that Ben wasn't or isn't as smart. That is simply not the case. You might even think that I am bragging about how smart my little girl is being able to speak at such a young age, but I am not (although I still think that my children are cuter than yours.) The difference between the two is that Ben wan't willing to say anything until he was sure exactly how to say it. When he finally did speak, his sentences were very clear and he spoke very well. When Bethany started talking, her communication was very disjointed, but as a result of trying, she was able to speak clearly at a much earlier age. The fastest way we can learn is to try and fail. The more we try and fail the more we will succeed. It is really that simple. The question is, "If we need to fail before we succeed, how do we prevent causing problems with critical systems?" The answer is simple... we need to fail strategically - we need to fail on our own time. I have met a number of people who think that the only time we are supposed to work is from 8am to 5pm. When do we have time to fail? If we only work from 8am to 5pm then we can only fail when people are watching. My suggestion is plan some time for failure. Plan to try new things and see where they lead you. I promise, the more you plan to fail, the more success you will see in your life.

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Corey Smith is the Vice President of Innovation at Fisher's Document Systems where he maintains a blog on business and technology.