The Willingness to Be Wrong

How opening your mind can lead you to the right solution.

Everyone I know loves being right – including me. It feels good, it's validating, and it makes us feel as if we know what we are doing. However, when one feels they are right all the time, it comes with a nasty side effect: it stops them from learning.

I've always been drawn to the way scientists think, even though I have the polar opposite of a scientific brain. They begin with the premise that they might be wrong – not as a weakness, but as fuel for curiosity. They observe facts, form a hypothesis, test said hypothesis, and let the data decide. When the results don't match their expectations, they don't bury the evidence or double down on their opinion. They review the data, adjust, form a new hypothesis, and test again.

It's a state of humility in the face of concrete reality, and it's precisely what marketers (and leaders, for that matter) could use a little more of.

If you've been in marketing for any length of time, you've witnessed the following: the campaign everyone was sure would work but ended up with the impact of a limp noodle, the brilliant new tagline that confused the audience instead of inspiring them, the new merch launch that should've been a hit but missed the mark. In those moments, it's easy to blame the market, the economy, the uncertainty, or simply bad timing.

However, if you're being really honest, you know the real issue is that you fell in love with your own idea and convinced yourself you were right before you ever tested it to see if you truly were. When ego gets in the driver's seat, curiosity gets shoved in the trunk, virtually guaranteeing getting lost along the way.

The best marketers I've worked with aren't the ones who are a real-life personification of Don Draper and nail it the first time. Instead, they're the ones who listen to what the data, the audience, and the results are saying, even when it's uncomfortable. Much like scientists, they test, experiment, fail fast, and learn faster. They don't spend a second defending an idea because it's theirs, because they are far more interested in discovering the truth behind what really works.

Here's the real truth: every time you cling to being right, you pay a hidden price. You miss game-changing opportunities to see your audience differently, explore new creative angles, and uncover insights that might lead you to smarter, more impactful branded merch solutions. Being wrong isn't failure, it's feedback.

Marketing, like science, is an endless cycle of testing, refining, improving, and testing again. There's no such thing as a final version, perfect campaign, or branded merchandise that always works because markets evolve, people change, and expectations shift.

Remember, being wrong doesn't make you less capable; it makes you more human, adaptable, and relatable. In a world where audiences, algorithms, and attention spans are constantly evolving, being human is everything. Next time you're convinced that your idea for a client is perfect, take a breath and ask yourself one simple question:

What if I'm wrong, and that's where the right answer begins?