Failing Better

"Yippee!" is probably the last thing you want to yell when you encounter failure.  Your exclamations are probably more of the four letter variety. But Kat Koppett wants you to at consider celebrating failure and on this first episode of Failing Better, she'll tell us why.  Koppett is a trainer, facilitator, improvisor, applied improv expert and eponymous founder of Koppett, where she's traveled the world teaching improv and creativity to companies like Facebook, Apple and JPMorgan Chase. She's also one of the forces behind the MopCo Improv Theater, a leading force in the Upstate New York improv scene.   You can hear some great discussions about failure and other improv topics, check out Kat's podcast, Dare To Be Human. 

Also on this episode:  Mary shares one of her greatest public failures.  Spoiler alert-- it involves goats. 

"Yippee!" is probably the last thing you want to yell when you encounter failure.  Your exclamations are probably more of the four letter variety. But Kat Koppett wants you to at consider celebrating failure and on this first episode of Failing Better, she'll tell us why.  Koppett is a trainer, facilitator, improvisor, applied improv expert and eponymous founder of Koppett, where she's traveled the world teaching improv and creativity to companies like Facebook, Apple and JPMorgan Chase. She's also one of the forces behind the MopCo Improv Theater, a leading force in the Upstate New York improv scene.   You can hear some great discussions about failure and other improv topics, check out Kat's podcast, Dare To Be Human. 

Also on this episode:  Mary shares one of her greatest public failures.  Spoiler alert-- it involves goats. 

Kat Koppett has traveled the world teaching companies like Apple, Facebook and JP Morgan Chase how to use improv for creativity. She's a teacher, presenter, coach, mentor.  She'll join us next on Failing Better. 

There's more that unites us than divides us.  One of the many things we have in common? Failure.  There comes a point in everyone's life when things don't go as planned -- in big ways or small ones.  And while we're afraid to admit our own failures, we love to hear stories of failure, and resilience of others.  

So maybe failure can be something more than just a moment where we didn't get what we wanted. Maybe failure can be more than just a tool for learning.  Maybe failure can help unite us. Maybe. 

Yes, a podcast about failure. 

Think about it -- it's one of the things we all have in common. We all fail.  Maybe it's a math test, maybe it's a tray of broken dishes, maybe it's a project gone awry or a wrong move in a relationship. The failures may be unique, but failure is not. Still, while it happens to us all, our failures are something we are loathe to discuss.  We squirrel them away in the deepest parts of ourselves. On social media, at work, in public, we try to project an image that we are perfect.  But we love to hear how other people failed. And a good redemption story is the stuff of Hollywood and best seller lists.   

So welcome to failing better -- a place where successful people share moments of failure, the lessons they learned from them, and how they overcame them.  

What's the point?  I'm glad you asked.  In a world that is crying out for connection, we're often afraid to approach each other  because we  see the perfect in others and only the broken in ourselves.  By talking about failure we're hoping to break down some of the walls and open up opportunities for connection and understanding.

So yes, it's about failure, but it's really about resilience, encouragement and connection.  

We hope you'll listen, ask questions, and maybe even share your own stories of failure and resilience.  And we hope these stories help you to be braver, and kinder to yourself and others. 

Keep failing. It's proof that you're trying.