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Never. If the project was a success, I did it for the project. If it wasn't, I did it to learn and grow. Either way, nothing to be embarrassed about. (Am I

by edw519 16y ago

Never. If the project was a success, I did it for the project. If it wasn't, I did it to learn and grow. Either way, nothing to be embarrassed about. (Am I embarrassed by the code I wrote 3 years ago? Now that's another story.)

TamDenholm 16y ago
I think if you're not embarrassed by the code you wrote ages ago then you're not improving.
- mikerg87 16y ago
  The code I wrote sucks. The code I am writing is cool. The code I am going to write rocks!
- alanthonyc 16y ago
  I'm embarrassed by the code I wrote last week.
- mrlyc 16y ago
  No, I don't think so. I'm still quite proud of the Vic-20 bulletin board I wrote 26 years ago that got me my first job as a programmer.
mattblalock 16y ago
See this is based on the assumption that "you did it for the project" or "to learn and grow", but failure (for me) is based on goals and one's inability to meet them. If your goal was to "create a project", you have succeeded even in the face of "failure", unless you never created your project. Most of us, however, have goals: get 100 users, design a great user experience, play 45 shows in a band, get a record deal, get famous. I don't think you can repurpose your project as a learning experiment... even if you learned, what was the goal?
- rechtaht 16y ago
  I think you're right. I also think that's where the culture of learning is really powerful. You do need to set the expectation ahead of time that the real objective is learning or validated knowledge. I have a company and we set goals, but our overarching goal is to learn. If we fail at meeting a metric there is always something to learn and take forward to the next attempt. The only failure we define as a company is not setting your goals high enough to push yourself, or not taking your learning forward. That's how you build a culture that is willing to take risks. Defining failure as not meeting your metrics isn't productive.
mattblalock 16y ago
PS. I'm always embarrassed by the code I wrote ages ago as well... seriously, what I was I thinking?
aaronblohowiak 16y ago
"No failure, only feedback." Now, you have to have a retrospective and really learn your lessons for this to work but it can be a very liberating mindset.

by edw519 16y ago

TamDenholm 16y ago

I think if you're not embarrassed by the code you wrote ages ago then you're not improving.

mikerg87 16y ago
The code I wrote sucks. The code I am writing is cool. The code I am going to write rocks!
alanthonyc 16y ago
I'm embarrassed by the code I wrote last week.
mrlyc 16y ago
No, I don't think so. I'm still quite proud of the Vic-20 bulletin board I wrote 26 years ago that got me my first job as a programmer.

mattblalock 16y ago

See this is based on the assumption that "you did it for the project" or "to learn and grow", but failure (for me) is based on goals and one's inability to meet them. If your goal was to "create a project", you have succeeded even in the face of "failure", unless you never created your project. Most of us, however, have goals: get 100 users, design a great user experience, play 45 shows in a band, get a record deal, get famous. I don't think you can repurpose your project as a learning experiment... even if you learned, what was the goal?

rechtaht 16y ago
I think you're right. I also think that's where the culture of learning is really powerful. You do need to set the expectation ahead of time that the real objective is learning or validated knowledge. I have a company and we set goals, but our overarching goal is to learn. If we fail at meeting a metric there is always something to learn and take forward to the next attempt. The only failure we define as a company is not setting your goals high enough to push yourself, or not taking your learning forward. That's how you build a culture that is willing to take risks. Defining failure as not meeting your metrics isn't productive.

mattblalock 16y ago

PS. I'm always embarrassed by the code I wrote ages ago as well... seriously, what I was I thinking?

aaronblohowiak 16y ago

"No failure, only feedback." Now, you have to have a retrospective and really learn your lessons for this to work but it can be a very liberating mindset.