There are no experts of the new. We’re all figuring it out as we go. Yet most business leaders would rather wait for others to figure things out first. They wait for proven methods. They wait for best practices. They wait for someone else to show them what works.
But here’s the problem: You can’t discover what’s possible by waiting for someone else to discover it.
Innovation requires experimentation. Experimentation requires venturing into the unknown. And venturing into the unknown means you’ll make mistakes. There’s no way around it.
“Let’s make better mistakes tomorrow,” said no stagnant company leader.
Stagnant organizations fear making mistakes more than they fear making no progress. Think about it. Companies claim to value innovation, experimentation, and continuous improvement. Yet their cultures often reward predictability, punish failure, and discourage challenging established assumptions.
Employees quickly figure out what really matters. They learn that playing it safe is rewarded, while taking risks can damage their careers. So they stop experimenting. They stop questioning. They stop challenging how things are done. And the organization stagnates.
If your people are afraid to make mistakes, you’ve made it their job to protect the status quo. That’s a leadership problem. You can’t demand innovation while creating an environment that punishes people for trying something new. Of course, this doesn’t mean celebrating every mistake.
The problem isn’t making mistakes. It’s making the same mistakes repeatedly, failing to learn from them, or avoiding decisions because something might go wrong.
Better mistakes are evidence of better experiments.
A better mistake means you challenged a bigger assumption, explored an unfamiliar possibility, or attempted something beyond your current capabilities. Mistakes aren’t inherently valuable. What you learn, how quickly you learn it, and what you do differently because of it determine their value.
And that learning compounds.
Over time, the organizations that experiment become more capable. They develop better judgment, discover new possibilities, and build capabilities that those sitting on the sidelines simply don’t have. A company’s ambition can be measured partly by the kinds of mistakes it’s willing to make.
A stagnant company makes mistakes protecting yesterday’s business. An ambitious company sometimes makes mistakes inventing tomorrow’s.
AI is putting this leadership philosophy to the test. AI is a technology equalizer. Capabilities that once required enormous resources are now accessible to almost anyone. But having access to the same technology doesn’t mean everyone will get the same results.
Some businesses are waiting for best practices to emerge. They’re waiting for someone else to figure out where AI creates value and how to implement it. Others are experimenting, challenging assumptions, reimagining workflows, and discovering entirely new ways to create value.
They’re making mistakes. They’re learning. They’re getting better. And they’re building capabilities you can’t acquire simply by copying someone else’s playbook. The biggest risk isn’t experimenting and getting something wrong. It’s learning nothing while others figure out what’s possible. You can’t lead into a future you’re unwilling to explore.
Bottom line: I challenge you to be the leader who lives by: “Let’s make better mistakes tomorrow.” Because a leader’s job isn’t to eliminate uncertainty. It’s to build an organization that can make progress despite uncertainty. This is the kind of leadership required to create the future instead of waiting for it.
