Failure-to-Fix Learning Loop
Convert setbacks into specific changes and renewed action
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 95%
The loop begins by accepting that rejection and failure are inevitable in ambitious work. Instead of interpreting the event as a permanent verdict, the practitioner defines exactly what did not work and gathers evidence about the causes. External circumstances are separated from controllable errors so effort is directed where it can change the next outcome. The analysis then produces a specific correction—a different proposition, skill, partner, structure, or timing decision—which is tested in another attempt. Results from that attempt provide new evidence and continue the cycle. Tenacity supplies repeated action, but diagnosis prevents persistence from becoming blind repetition. Over time, accumulated corrections improve judgment and positioning, allowing setbacks to become inputs to success rather than reasons to stop.
Origin
Ken Kencel presented this loop as career advice after describing repeated fundraising rejection and several strategic changes in building his firm.
Core principles
- 01Failure is expected rather than exceptional
- 02A setback becomes valuable only after diagnosis
- 03Focus analysis on controllable causes
- 04Translate every lesson into a concrete adjustment
- 05Resume action before fear becomes avoidance
How to run it
- 1
Define the failure
Describe the expected outcome, the actual outcome, and the material gap between them.
Pro tip Use observable facts rather than labels such as personal failure.
Watch out A vague diagnosis produces vague learning.
- 2
Collect evidence
Review decisions, feedback, timing, assumptions, and execution to understand what produced the result.
Pro tip Ask informed outsiders what they saw that you may have missed.
Watch out Do not rely entirely on the story that protects your ego.
- 3
Separate control from circumstance
Distinguish market conditions and randomness from skills, choices, or preparation that you can improve.
Pro tip Plan around recurring external constraints even when you cannot remove them.
Watch out Blaming everything on circumstances eliminates agency.
- 4
Choose a correction
Select a specific change that directly addresses the strongest supported cause.
Pro tip Change one or a small number of variables when possible so the next result remains interpretable.
Watch out A dramatic pivot without evidence may discard parts that were working.
- 5
Try again
Apply the correction in another real attempt and observe whether outcomes improve.
Pro tip Set the next attempt promptly to prevent avoidance from taking hold.
Watch out Do not confuse more preparation with renewed action.
- 6
Repeat the loop
Use the new outcome as evidence, preserving effective changes and revising ineffective ones.
Pro tip Keep a short record of failures, diagnoses, changes, and results.
Watch out Persistence loses value when the same evidence repeatedly invalidates the underlying goal.
In the wild
An emerging manager is repeatedly told to return after establishing a longer record. Instead of abandoning the firm or repeating the same pitch, the team identifies the missing proof, narrows its target investors, strengthens reporting, and returns after demonstrating performance through a difficult period.
→ The rejection becomes a roadmap for a stronger subsequent raise.
Common mistakes
Making failure an identity
Treating one result as proof of permanent inadequacy discourages the analysis needed for improvement.
Persisting without changing
Repeating the same approach despite consistent evidence is stubbornness rather than resilience.
Changing everything at once
An undisciplined overhaul makes it difficult to determine which correction affected the next result.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for careers, fundraising, sales, and ventures where repeated attempts generate useful feedback.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for irreversible high-risk decisions where experimentation itself would be unsafe.
From the transcript
“You will be rejected, You will fail.”
“Do not let failure stop you in any way, shape or form.”
“you analyze, you determine, Okay, what was it that made it not work out? And how do I fix that?”
From the episode
Ken Kencel on the Rise of Private Capital
Ken Kencel