That was the stirring message from Carlos Braceras, executive director of Utah Department of Transportation. Speaking at the ITS America Annual Meeting 2021 at a session about the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, he said:
“When you're innovative, the risk that we all have is that you make a mistake and fail. And so it's really important that you be willing - as a leader in an organisation - to create the framework to be able to allow your people to try new things, and to make mistakes.”
Braceras, who was inducted into the 2022 ITS Hall of Fame this week, recalled that early in his career he answered a question in an interview in a similar vein: “I'm astounded that I still have a job, but this was over 35 years ago when I was early in my career, and I was asked, ‘What is your best skill?’ And without even thinking, I said: ‘Well, I can make more mistakes faster than anyone else – but I won't make the same mistake twice’. And so it's really important in the public sector that you create an environment of trust for your employees and your private sector partners, to be able to try new things.”
