From the Boardroom to the Classroom: The Birth of FLeRD

Before spending a decade teaching Science and History to middle and high schoolers, I spent 15 years in the business world, backed by an MBA. I’ve always viewed failure not as a dead end, but as a prerequisite for deep learning, a necessary step toward greater success.

However, in the classroom, I noticed a troubling pattern: my students were paralyzed by a fear of failing. They weren’t “failing well,” and as a result, they weren’t growing. I realized they didn’t need more lectures; they needed a system.

That’s why I created FLeRD (Fail, Learn, Renew, Do). It is an iterative process designed to leverage setbacks into a “spiral” of continuous improvement. After seeing FLeRD transform student outcomes and my own professional approach, I am now sharing this framework with teams, businesses, and individuals to help them turn their obstacles into their greatest competitive advantages.