When I was starting my professional life, I had the opportunity to work at a company that was preparing thoughtful, handmade gifts for potential partners and investors. My boss was especially proud of the team’s efforts; they had meticulously researched each partner’s culture and interests to ensure the gifts were meaningful. One of my responsibilities was to ensure the gifts were beautifully wrapped—a seemingly simple yet important task.

Eager to impress, I carefully selected elegant white wrapping paper with silver and gold accents, confident it would make the gifts look stunning. But when we presented the first gift to our Japanese partners, their reactions caught me off guard. They frowned and appeared uncomfortable. My boss was upset, and I couldn’t understand why.

Later, I learned that in Japanese culture, white wrapping paper symbolizes death and mourning. What I thought was a thoughtful presentation had sent the wrong message. I was mortified by what felt like a massive failure. But in hindsight, that experience taught me lessons I carry to this day: the importance of cultural awareness, attention to detail, and understanding context. Without this misstep, I wouldn’t have gained those valuable insights.

Failure, as uncomfortable as it can be, often provides lessons success cannot. This is particularly true in the world of innovation, where failure isn’t just inevitable—it’s essential.

Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s a stepping stone toward it. Innovation thrives in environments that embrace experimentation, and with experimentation comes the risk of failure. Instead of fearing it, we should embrace failure as a catalyst for creativity, growth, and progress. Here are four reasons why failure is critical to innovation:

1. Sparking Creativity
   Some of the most groundbreaking ideas are born from what initially seem like mistakes. Failure pushes us to rethink assumptions, challenge norms, and take bold risks we might otherwise avoid.
2. Fostering Growth
   Growth—both individual and organizational—often stems from reflecting on what didn’t work. By analyzing setbacks, we gain valuable insights that refine our approaches and strengthen our resilience.
3. Building Shared Experiences
   Failure can unite teams and foster a culture of openness. When mistakes are discussed without fear, they become shared learning moments that build trust and collaboration.
4. Encouraging Intelligent Risk-Taking
   Not all failures are equal. In innovation, “intelligent failures”—those that occur while experimenting or exploring new territory—are invaluable. They demonstrate progress and boundary-pushing exploration.

Innovation requires a mindset that sees failure not as an endpoint but as part of the journey. When failure is embraced, analyzed, and even celebrated, it transforms from a dreaded event to a tool for progress. Embracing failure is about reframing setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow.

In my role at Healthy Teen Network, I carry this lesson forward as our organization supports the Launch Accelerator hub and leads the In/Tend Incubator Hub. As part of these programs, hub staff emphasize the importance of forming hypotheses and testing them. Through this process, teams will learn that even if their initial hypotheses turn out to be incorrect, this “failure” is additional knowledge that they have gained. By testing and challenging their assumptions frequently, teams can understand what isn’t working and identify early when they might need to rethink or even pivot. Reflecting on my early professional misstep, I now realize how that seemingly small failure taught me lessons that influence my approach to innovation today. Just as I learned about cultural nuance and the importance of research, failure in innovation pushes us to understand complexities, challenge assumptions, and explore new ideas.

The next time something doesn’t go as planned, ask yourself: What can I learn? How can I grow? And how might this “failure” spark my next big idea?

Failure isn’t the end of the road—it’s the beginning of a new path toward discovery, creativity, and innovation.