Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity. – Dr. Rick Rigsby

We all know that person (if you don’t, it may be you) who can justify decisions with his/her own bravado or narcissism. These folks tend to defend mistakes rather than learn from them; they have a habit of doubling-down on a wrong decision rather than changing course to avoid further failures.

While perfection may be a goal, no one or organization every gets it right all the time. Disney had Euro Disney, there was New Coke, and Apple had the iPod Nano. Every journey includes bumps in the road, obstacles along the way, and even an occasional u-turn. Mistakes are often essential in learning – don’t let your ego anesthetize lessons learned through mistakes.