Fail Forward like a Gamer!
Book Giveaway!!
20 copies available!!
Leave a comment on this guest post by Jessica Lindl to become eligible for one of 20 complimentary copies of her new book, The Career Game Loop.
Deadline for eligibility is 0/504/2025. International winners will receive electronic version.
We live in a time when careers no longer follow a straight path. Gone are the days of “learn, earn, retire.” Today’s job market is dynamic and unpredictable.
Learn, Earn, Advance
That’s the core idea behind The Career Game Loop: a mindset shift that treats your career like a game, full of quests, levels, challenges, and restarts. Instead of viewing each job or project as a one-off, this framework encourages you to cycle through phases: choose your quest, level up, job hunt, and job craft.
But, like in any great game, progress isn’t always smooth. The best players know how to lose well, whether in a game or a career.
Fail Forward
James Stone is an excellent example of losing well. He took a risky leap from a stable IT job into the gaming industry, showing us what failing forward looks like. His early projects crashed and burned. But James didn’t retreat; he reloaded, reviewed, and tried again—stronger.
Play Your Own Career Game Loop
#1 Treat every setback like data.
When you lose in a game, you don’t quit. You analyze, adjust, and try again. Apply the same mindset to job rejections, harsh feedback, or flopped projects. What would you do differently next time?
#2. Take calculated risks.
As in gaming, you can’t level up without facing more formidable opponents. Stretch for roles outside your comfort zone. Volunteer for projects that scare you a little. What’s the bold move you’ve been putting off?
#3. Design your own “tutorial mode.”
James didn’t wait for perfect conditions. Build skills through self-study, mentorships, or side projects. No boss? No budget? No problem. You’re in control of your upgrades. How will you level up on your own terms?
The modern career is an ever-evolving game loop. What is the difference between those who thrive and those who stall? The ones who keep playing after they lose.
What are you noticing about today’s career path?
Jessica Lindl is the Vice President of Ecosystem Growth at Unity Technologies. Over the last decade, she and her team have upskilled millions of learners worldwide into jobs in today’s fast-changing job market. She wrote The Career Game Loop to share their proven approach with the world, demonstrating how a gamer’s mindset helps anyone (not just gamers) unlock new job opportunities across all industries. Her book, The Career Game Loop, is available now.
Great advice. I always try to ‘gamify’ tasks to help my brain work through them, and treating failures as learning opportunities has been the biggest change in my career.
Learning from failure is a huge part of being successful. Great read!
Thank you. I am sure the book is a good read. The most important advice is to build skills through self-study. Too often, we do not want to rely on collaboration, when strategies already tried by others can be valuable resources. Analyze, adjust, and move forward is such a simple, yet profound undertaking. Lack of that mindset is what ruins career paths and personal relationships.
Interesting concept! Makes me want to back trace my career paths.
My career path has come full circle:
–Bagging groceries at my uncle’s store
–Sales representative
–College coach and professor
–Human resources executive
–College professor
–Author and trainer
Now, I’m semi-retired. My wife jokes that I should get a job at Trader Joe’s bagging groceries — completing the loop I started years ago.
Fail forward is a concept that is challenging for many – because they are afraid of failure. Without failure we aren’t given the opportunity to grow. Much like you talk about the data collection – some want all the data so they can make the perfect decision. No decision is perfect, and if you wait for it to be truly perfected – you will never make a decision. I found this many years back, and have shared this with our executive team: Continuous Improvement is better than Delayed Perfection. Commit to what feels right, make sure you test your commitments. Otherwise, you are going to miss opportunities.
Great advice. My career success has been learning from lessons, improve, and make changes next time.
I love this! I found out that a grant proposal I wrote didn’t get funded and felt defeated, but I’m looking at ways to improve it for next year – but have never thought about it this way. I also feel this would be a great read for my son who will be a high school senior next year to give him a leg up through college and into his job search!
Love this idea. Every time I have a job shift, I realize just how much my past experiences contribute to my current success. They’ve all been so different and so unique, but when I combine them and take forward things I’ve tried (that have and haven’t worked) and lessons I’ve learned from each, they become critical to what I do and how creative I am in my current role.
Its almost like you were foretelling the future. In the current working climate this message as all to timely. Being able to take in the information (data) and make adjustments is key. Sounds like a great read!
Great suggestions! Taking calculated risks is the nugget that resonates with how I’ve managed my career.
This was a novel take on what others might see as “someone not being able to hold down a job!” I have had over 12 different jobs in 7 industries and always saw mine as a journey. To view it through the lens of a game, with “analyze, adjust, and try again” as the rules is a wonderful perspective.
In my upcoming book, “The Consistency Effect,” I use my 40 plus years of experience in all of these roles to share the lessons I have learned. I argue that singles and doubles in baseball win more games, seasons and careers than Grand Slam home runs. Same is true in business and in life. I have always believed that you only lose if you stop playing. Let the games continue!
Working in Agile, we’re encouraged to fail fast on projects. Had never considered applying the same logic to my career. Very though provoking!
This is a great reminder of how to look at work, and even life. You have to look for secret doorways, partner with others, and be curious about what’s around the corner.
Of course, I’m older and my experience with gaming is more Super Mario and Tetris. It’s like solving a puzzle for me.
Yes, I agree, and would love to get a copy!
I love the point about making a calculated risk! I’ve done that with my most recent job transition and I’ve really enjoyed it. I think this mindset and framing is very on time especially in the current job market. I found out recently my team will be dissolved this summer due to budget cuts so I know I’ll have to transition to something new but I’m excited about it.
an interesting concept. I always said life is a game, now there’s a book about it! I’m nearing retirement, but this would be a great thing to share on my way out.
I am curious about the journey to less success and the satisfaction and joy in that journey.
Every step backward is a huge leap forward as you learn and grow with each setback. I recently said yes to something way out of my comfort zone and have had to go back and try it multiple ways and multiple times and learn more at each attempt.
Today’s career path is uncertain to say the least. You must be flexible and ready to pivot at any given time. Gone are the days of progressive movement within the company. While it can happen, in the current climate with jobs, it’s not guaranteed. When you have a setback you have to think on your feet and be ready to roll with changes to stay employed. The more you learn, the more you grow and develop.
This feels so close to my thinking process. I discuss this with my teenage kids all the time about breaking down each scenario into compartments and tackling them one item at a time. Don’t be afraid to fail, we learn the most from our failures, I know I certainly have.
I’m interested in reading this take on it. I’ve often thought of each step in my career in a similar way, but not really ‘gamifying’ it.
Interesting take: what others may see as failure, may just be a “new life” or a restart.
I like the title and the publicity. Indeed, today’s career paths are rather unpredictable and adventurous, and balancing our careers can be truly complicated. I look forward to reading it.
This is so very true in many decades of career changes- it’s about the courage to pivot and use what you have academically, professionally and personally to make your journey something that is scary, unpredictable but fun as well if you can take courage in your successes!
I love this new focus on failing forward fast! It’s one I can share with gamers.
I think this concept explains a lot about what I see in my next generation employees. Learning more about this will not only give me pause to reflect on my own career choices, but I think it might be a useful tool in leading the next generation of workers.
I really like this thought process in thinking differently about one’s career. I oftentimes reflect on missed opportunities or failures as learning in how to improve.
‘Fail forward’ reminds me of the Henry Ford quote: “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” It’s always our choice – consider our mistake or misstep to understand what went wrong and move forward with a revised plan OR give up and accept failure. I honestly believe creatively challenging ourselves, increasing the likelihood of mistakes, addressing them when they arise, yields a far better outcome that following a safer / less creative path.
I think this approach would be very beneficial for our high school students. We always appreciate any opportunity to emphasize entrepreneurship. What we don’t do well in school is to normalize (or encourage) failure. This book could really help!
From young to old!!!
Yearning, learning, berning, churning, spurning, learning, yearning!
I just recently enjoyed sharpening up the ol’ resume and going through the interview process. I learned so much with the after-action and review process. I was not disappointed when I didn’t get the position because it was a total reach, but I am so much more prepared for my “next-level” position! The concepts above really resonated with me and what and how I handled the experience. I feel like I am more prepared now than ever!
Nice approach to conveying the importance of continuous learning and knowing oneself. We are not the same person all throughout our lives – we grow and develop. And hopefully invest a worthy portion of all that learning to mentoring those following in our footsteps. I appreciate this style of tutoring, that doesn’t focus on the end goal, but the intermediate accomplishments.
I’ve been trying to explain this to my kids (20, 13, & 12) as they grow and navigate this new world of what it means to get an education, work hard, and be willing to pivot again and again. These 3 tips explain it beautifully – “cycle through LIFE in phases: choose your quest, level up, job hunt, and job craft.” I hope I get the opportunity to win this book. It will be a tremendous resource as a parent of growing children. Brilliant!
the ones who keep playing after they loose…… this is a Great statement.
I especially like the idea of treating setbacks as data. It’s easy to take rejection personally, but reframing it as part of a feedback loop makes it feel actionable instead of defeating. And in a world where traditional career ladders are disappearing, the idea of a game loop feels more relevant than ever.
As an educator, I have taught my students that failing IS learning. If we all succeeded at everything we try, we would never progress. It makes sense that this cycle continues as adults.
Interesting concept, failing forward as part of game theory, should be a great read.
This seems to be a nice way to relate careers and jobs to more people, especially those who are newer to the work force. My husband is one who job hops quite a bit and feels like a failure, I can’t wait to bring this idea to him!
What a great and innovative way of thinking about career trajectory. This will certainly help when doing career coaching and counseling. Thank you for the thoughts today.
Keep playing after you lose. What a concept!
As someone who has always been a little bit afraid to fail, this is a great reminder for me that failure is not final. It’s just part of the game.
Very important book
I need to read this book. I’m looking to semi-retire in a few years, but I need to figure out how to continue working part-time using my extensive education and experiences to do something that is interesting, engaging, and meaningful. I’d love to win a copy of this book!
Maybe late…trying none the less. Thank you for all your work Dan!