The Art of Learning from Mistakes

We cordially invite you to

the first ever FuckUpNight in Basel

12.May 2016

The Basel region is Switzerland’s most dynamic and innovative economic area. Located at the heart of Europe, right next to Germany and France, is is also known for the incomparable art and architecture scene and its lively approach to life.

Trilingual – English, German and French.

Here are the links you need for more details, reserving your seats, joining the FUN.Basel community to engage in your City and be ready for future dates.

Why are we doing this?

————– Take the time to think about this ————–

How do you define success?
How do you look at mistakes and errors?

… exactly … it is a question of definition and interpretation.

A short research leads to the definition of a “fuckup” as a serious or severe mistake. A quick look at history of the word “failure” shows that the origin of its meaning was “non-occurrence”, it’s use changed over time.

Looking at the word FAIL as an acronym is my choice:

FAIL = First Attempt In Learning

It is all a question on how one interprets the word failure.

I, me and my colleague Isabelle, have also been convinced that an error management culture boosts companies’ performance and goals achievement. We have always believed that setbacks, adjustments, mistakes, errors, a change of direction are part of the path of development.

Our time has come. This is now becoming not only scientifically evident but essential in times of change, in the digital revolution we experience. It is becoming the more this digital transformation is effecting our work and lives. Whenever something new is being created, evolving and growing, errors and mistakes are part of the way.

In Engineering, especially in Software Development, there are several terms we have become used to that actually describe the same mindset: agile, scrum, kanban, fast feedback and their combinations.

In a nutshell: they describe the key benefit for development success lying in enabling teams to learn fast and adjust.

The principle of trial and error is a fundamental method of solving problems, the basis for real learning.

FuckUpNights are an impulse for looking at the meanings behind the words, the learning behind mistakes, the mind set we calibrated. They ask us to open up, share and accept setbacks as part of the journey so that we can change faster, we can stay on top of the wave, not loose the competitiveness as a company, as a society, as a country and have fun doing that.