Failure and Success - Which Do We Learn More From?

Posted live from Greenbuild.

This morning we had our annual breakfast at Greenbuild with invited participants from the top green firms in the industry — taking their pulse, getting their take. Architects were in force, but engineers and builders were also represented.

Much of the discussion revolved around the 2030 Challenge — who has signed up and who hasn't (the room was split roughly equally); why and why not; what the vague Challenge actually means (does it include occupant transportation, etc.?) and how to specifically measure it (Btu/sf? Energy use? Carbon?). Meanwhile, the first threshold, 2010, is looming.

The state of the economy and the uncertain future didn't seem to shake the confidence of the room much... project type and focus tends to shift in downturns, but things go on. One participant said, "We're going to have to admit that we can't ignore existing buildings. This is a sea change. We have to think like Europe and parts and Asia." On the other hand, in a recent Turner survey of all building industry markets, 3/4 of respondents said that an economic downturn wouldn't affect the decision to build green.

Education, as always, was a big topic. Institutions are churning out unprepared, undereducated students. The public doesn't really get the concept of energy conservation — they just want to save money. So do building owners. But, it was pointed out, "the right kind of knowledge can change behavior" (and also, cheekily, "the right person can defeat any system we design in"). The notion that we'll see some good changes when people learn how to compete against each other to save energy was floated, and it was good.

For the industry at large, dispassionate, deep data is needed — data that's normalized and consistent. And anonymous if necessary. There needs to be more POE, more measurement and analysis. There needs to be a wealth of numbers and details available, a track record.

I'm going to make an abrupt turn here and go gooey...

A participant stated that we need to learn from what doesn't work — and this is a thing I've always agreed with strongly. I always want to know about the failures. But another perspective was given in response: If we focus on successes, won't we not only learn just as much, but also be contributing to a movement that's more inviting? (— except it was better-worded, to the point where it somehow put a chink in my cynicism. I wish I'd been recording...).

Afterward, walking back to Greenbuild from the hotel where we had the breakfast meeting, Nadav Malin and I fell in together. Waiting at an intersection, we saw a suit-and-tie security guy from the convention center out in the street thanking the traffic cops for their help, offering to get them hot chocolate (it's in the high 20s — F). While this was going on, one of them was holding up traffic against a red light to let pedestrians cross, and a car honked. "Who the **** honked!?" the cop muttered.

Nadav said, "Isn't that a great Boston scene? Thanking the traffic cops and offering to get them hot chocolate?"

I replied with snark, continuing his sentence for him, "... while one of the cops yells 'Who the *** honked?!"

I know this isn't what this post started out being about, but this is where it led me. Nadav was focusing on the positive, while I was focusing on the negative. Even though I didn't mean it that way, that's how it immediately felt. If there had been a third person with us, what would they have learned? Which comment would they have preferred to carry with them?

Back again to the topic of which we learn more and better from — success or failure. I'd have to agree with Forrest Gump. I think maybe it's both.

UPDATE — Jane Kolleeny's post "Optimism marks the first day of Greenbuild" over at GreenSource is a good adjunct to this...