The Tech Therapy Couch: "Fail fast, fail often." WTF?

In tech, you will many times hear the phrase "Fail fast. Fail often."

WHAT?? I don't WANT to FAIL, I want to succeed!!

As contradictory as it sounds, failing fast IS the best path to success. There are going to be ideas, strategies, pathways, and methodologies you try that won't work. THAT'S OK, and it's EXPECTED.

When we talk about keeping the technology simple, tried-and-true, and the like, we mean that taking more time to build fancy-pants technology (unless it is absolutely critically necessary to your core idea, which should be VERY FEW of you!) will only slow you down. Focus on fast delivery of your ideas and methodologies, so that your audience can tell you as quickly as possible whether something really works or not.

Fail fast, fail often, keep your tech simple.

(Oh, and: sudo -su 'make me a sandwich')