Via TED’s Best of the Web Talks, I discovered J.K. Rowling’s Harvard Commencement Address in June 2008 on The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination. The subject brings up an important concept — the fact that although we list only successes on our CVs, it is typically the failures that teach us more. Comparatively, success perhaps teaches us very little. When was the last time you judged someone as qualified because of the lessons learned in their last failure? Granted, this might not be the single best criteria, but someone who’s never failed may well be an underachiever stuck within the constraints of mediocre thinking.

J.K. Rowling:

Overheard in a supermarket checkout line this past weekend, one woman to another:

“Oh my God, [Leanne] bought a pair of fake glasses and wore them to an interview because she felt more intelligent. I mean, it’s not like they’re going to say, ‘Hire the one with glasses because she’s more intelligent.’”

It just got me to thinking, and wondering if Leanne is (a) being dishonest with her prospective employer, albeit in a seemingly benign way, or (b) creative, original, and smart. I’m sure the interviewer would be able to size up pretty quickly whether she’s an airhead or the real deal, but my jury is still out on whether or not the action is duplicitous.