As a business person and leader of groups as large as 300 people, I know how difficult it can be to allow your employees/children to grow up. I struggled with the same issues many times as I sought to position my leaders for growth by trusting them to do the right thing. And, most importantly, letting them fall down while doing it.

In today’s hypercompetitve environment, too many managers are afraid to let their teams “fail forward” and learn. Failures are seen as bad, and they are, if we don’t learn from them. But if we alwasy take the safe road and never try something new, then, good news… we won’t fail. Bad news… we will never advance ourselves, our people or our business.

Thank you for a great article. Keep them coming.

I am an artist and art teacher. My paintings hang in my home and in the homes of some of my children. I’ve sold a few paintings but not enough to support my family or even my art interest. So, I’ve turned to teaching. It is thrilling to open a child’s eyes to her/his natural artistic ability, even if she/he will never make a dime selling art. I do not agree with your negative view of the value of a child’s drawing. Can you imagine a child who hasn’t had the chance to draw? Or a mother/father who looks at a child’s drawing attempt and responds with when you can earn money with that talent I’ll appreciate it. The attitude you have expressed could create that kind of horrifying childhood experience.

Can you tell me that your writing talent that created this beautiful story about your childhood has only one purpose which is to earn a buck? Are you just trying to sell me something? To say that every effort has to have a bottom line even in childhood is unbelievable and Marxist. In these lean times, learning to develop talents and enjoy the simple beauty of things is both vital and smart.