From the Valve Handbook for New Employees:

Screwing up is a great way to find out that your assumptions were wrong or that your model of the world was a little bit off.  As long as you update your model and move forward with a better picture, you’re doing it right.  Look for ways to test your beliefs.  Never be afraid to run an experiment to collect more data.

It helps to make predictions and anticipate nasty outcomes.  Ask yourself, “what would I expect to see if I’m right?”  Ask yourself, “what would I expect to see if I’m wrong?”  Then ask yourself, “what do I see?”  If something totally unexpected happens, try to figure out why.

There are still some bad ways to fail.  Repeating the same mistake over and over is one.  Not listening to customers or peers before or after a failure is another.  Never ignore the evidence; particularly when it says you’re wrong.

Question

What would happen if, throughout the year, you designed each class with a single student in mind, asking yourself, what would be a class that ________ would love?

An artifact from May Term 2015: