A recent article in the New York Times, “The Many Errors in Thinking About Mistakes,” by Alina Tugend, Nov. 24, 2007, explored a topic that we can all relate to - the fear of making mistakes.  Tugend said “[w]e grow up with a mixed message: making mistakes is a necessary learning tool, but we should avoid them.”  She described a behavioral experiment put on by Carol Dweck, a professor at Stanford, where kids were randomly praised as smart or for their efforts.  Astonishingly, when given the choice of an easy or difficult task, most of the kids that were lauded for their smarts chose the easy one, while the kids praised for their efforts went with the challenging task.  The overall conclusion of the article: that our desire and associated behaviors in trying be mistake-free has robbed us of something greater, learning from experience and our mistakes.

 This article really struck a personal cord with me.  A friend of mine who is a lawyer constantly complains about the risk-averse nature of her profession.  She is a free-spirit by heart, but according to her, is surrounded by colleagues who took the “safe” path through life, going from college to law school, then a large law firm, or government/public interest work.  My friend laments that this structured path of academia and work leads to a culture where minor mistakes are ridiculed, leading attorneys to cover up or blame others.  My friend’s experience may be an overgeneralization of the legal profession as a whole, but it does highlight a stark difference in the legal verses business professions.  In business, trying new things is almost expected, and as long as you don’t lose the business or a large sack of cash, you move on to the next plan with few repercussions.  Ironically, if you don’t try new things and dare to make mistakes as an entrepreneur, you may risk the biggest thing of all, failing to move anywhere at all.  Although my friend enjoys some prestige and a moticum of financial security in her legal position, I would not trade my dreams to build a business for a risk-averse, staid, strict environment where mistakes are not tolerated.  As the NY Times article pointed out, people who shun mistake-making give up the ultimate - the opportunity to grow and learn.