With this year’s International Day for Failure coinciding with Friday the 13th, the atmosphere couldn’t be more apt.

Wilmington, Delaware — In the spirit of the International Day for Failure on October 13th, Planbox, the pioneering innovation management platform, is excited to spotlight its most memorable missteps from the past year. Founded in 2010 by students at Aalto University in Finland, this unique day aims to challenge the fear of failure in the business world and to advocate for embracing risk and creativity.

To fully embrace this occasion, Planbox initiated the “Oops!” challenge, encouraging the Planbox community to share their notable failures from the year. By doing so, Planbox hopes to shift the narrative from one of avoiding failure to one that celebrates the inherent value of mistakes as drivers of innovation, creativity, and learning.

Here are the top business-related and off-duty “oops” moments of 2023:

  • Orange Juice Cappuccino, Anyone?: “In my morning haze, I mistakenly frothed orange juice instead of milk for my cappuccino. Let’s just say it was a zesty surprise.”
  • Hasty Edits, Timely Lessons: “Under the gun, I hastily began editing a crucial project template without creating a backup. In the process, I found myself entangled in a web of alterations. Thankfully, a teammate had a saved version to spare, bringing about a sigh of relief. This experience served as a poignant reminder of an ancient adage, ‘Festina lente’ or ‘speûde bradéōs’, translating to ‘make haste slowly’. Sometimes, urgency requires a pinch of patience.”

  • Bowling Blunders: “As a lawn bowls enthusiast, I took the role of ‘Skip’ in a recent ‘Triples’ match. But in a comedy of errors, I mistakenly disturbed our advantageous positions not once, but multiple times. Our final score? A humbling 3-25.”

  • Monsters Under the Bed: “I didn’t identify a potential risk that later becomes a major issue, halting project progress. The lesson? Always perform comprehensive risk assessments and take the time to really analyze a potential situation before dismissing the threat.”

  • The Jeans Journey: “In my rush to pack for a visit to my in-laws, I forgot my jeans. With no men’s clothing stores in town, I had to resort to charity shops. Fortunately, I found a perfect pair at a mere £4.50.”

  • Oops-sumptions: “We made an assumption about a key project component without verifying, resulting in costly revisions later. The lesson? Always validate assumptions, especially if they can impact the project outcome. Asking more questions and confirming what needs to be done is a lot better than missing a key project deliverable due to a misunderstanding.”

Recognizing failures is not just about admitting mistakes but understanding how to derive value from them. This process is essential for fostering a culture that encourages innovation and continued investments in future-centric ventures.

For organizations, the key lies in deriving insights from such experiences and turning them into growth opportunities. If you’re keen to discover strategies successful innovators employ to transform failures into stepping stones, we invite you to schedule a conversation with one of Planbox’s innovation advisors.

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About Planbox

Innovation is at the heart of becoming Future-Fit. Built on ISO 56002 and AI, our end-to-end agile innovation management platform and services empower medium and large-sized organizations to become more adaptive, creative, and resilient. Planbox helps you turn creative ideas into winning projects and integrate everyday tools to collaborate smarter with your community of employees, customers, partners, startups, governments, academia, and expert solvers. Planbox has offices in Canada, UK, and USA, with customers around the world in over 140 countries.