237. Mistake It Till You Make It: Learn Faster and Fail Smarter

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

Why we learn the most when we accept that we might be wrong.

Effective communication isn’t about having all the answers. As Astro Teller knows, it’s about finding (and sometimes fumbling) your way through the questions.

Teller is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and inventor who serves as Captain of Moonshots at X, Alphabet's Moonshot Factory. In his work leading teams toward audacious solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems, he embraces what he calls “a learning journey,” where being wrong isn’t the end, but the beginning. “As scary as it is to be wrong,” he says, it’s a necessary part of the discovery process. Whether experimenting in the lab or testing our thoughts and opinions in conversation with others, it’s about having the humility and curiosity to face the limits of our understanding. “When do you learn something? You learn something when you have a model about the world, and then you get some data that tells you you're wrong,” he says. “You learn nothing when you're right.”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Teller and host Matt Abrahams discuss how embracing uncertainty drives innovation, why leaders should reward learning habits over outcomes, and how we learn the most when we’re not afraid to find that we might be wrong.

To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium.

Episode Reference Links:

• Astro Teller
• Astro’s Book: Sacred Cows
• Ep.70 Ideas Fuel Innovation: Why Your First Ideas Aren’t Always the Best
• Ep.20 Question Your Questions: How to Spark Creativity in Your Communication

Connect:

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• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (02:58) - Defining a Moonshot
• (05:01) - Building a Learning Machine
• (07:40) - Learning vs. Productivity
• (09:15) - Capturing and Sharing Learning
• (11:29) - Rewarding Habits, Not Outcomes
• (13:57) - Moonshot Success Stories
• (16:56) - The Power of Storytelling in Innovation
• (18:26) - Launching The Moonshot Podcast
• (20:17) - The Final Three Questions
• (26:07) - Conclusion

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