Failure 'abstinence' is ineffective & irresponsible

In this latest article for Yahoo Finance, author Gail Johnson implores readers to consider failure a core skill for the 21st century. Despite failure – specifically developing resilience in the face of failure – being integral to learning and growing, most often failure is regarded as something to be avoided “at all costs.” Society as a whole is practicing what Twenty One Toys founder Ilana Ben-Ari refers to as “failure abstinence…instead of failure education.”

Rather than using mistakes and missteps as an opportunity for learning, the stigma failure holds in society prevents people from talking openly about what didn’t work, and why.

Before failure, there was empathy

Positioning the Failure Toy as hot on the heels of the “wildly successful” Empathy Toy, Gail briefly describes the origin of Ilana’s first toy at the helm of Twenty One Toys. Ever the topic at hand, Empathy is not only trending but proving profitable for businesses that buy into its importance.

According to the latest Global Empathy Index – a self-described corporate fitbit for empathy – “companies are more profitable and productive when they act ethically, treat their staff well, and communicate better with their customers.” Showcasing data from the 2015 index to back this assertion, Yahoo Finance states, “the top 10 companies…increased in value more than twice as much as the bottom 10 and generated 50% more earnings.” And where the “average earnings among the top 10 were up 6%” in 2015, the “average earnings of the bottom 10 dropped 9 per cent.” The evidence is in – not only has investing in empathy proven lucrative for companies, but failure to do so is undoubtedly bad for business!