Astro TellerEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

“You learn nothing when you’re right.” Effective communication isn’t about having all the answers. As Astro Teller knows, it’s about finding, and sometimes fumbling, your way through the questions. As Captain of Moonshots at X, Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory, Teller embraces what he calls “a learning journey,” where being wrong isn’t the end, but an opportunity to discover something new. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Teller and Matt Abrahams discuss how embracing uncertainty drives innovation, why leaders should reward learning over outcomes, and why sometimes being wrong is the best way to learn. Takeaways: Being wrong is where learning happens. Treating failure as useful information rather than something to avoid helps you stay curious, test assumptions, and discover better paths forward. Reward the habits that lead to innovation, not just the outcomes. Focusing on curiosity, humility, and experimentation creates space for people to take meaningful risks and pursue ideas that may not work the first time. Activity: Find the failure faster. Choose one idea or project you’re confident about and identify the assumption most likely to prove you wrong. Design one small test that could challenge that assumption, then treat whatever you learn as progress. Episode Reference Links: Astro Teller Astro’s Book: Sacred Cows Ep.237 Mistake It Till You Make It: Learn Faster and Fail Smarter Ep.70 Ideas Fuel Innovation: Why Your First Ideas Aren't Always the Best Ep.20 Question Your Questions: How to Spark Creativity in Your Communication Connect: Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn

Why we learn the most when we accept that we might be wrong. Effective communication isn’t about having all the answers. As Astro Teller knows, it’s about finding (and sometimes fumbling) your way through the questions. Teller is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and inventor who serves as Captain of Moonshots at X, Alphabet's Moonshot Factory. In his work leading teams toward audacious solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems, he embraces what he calls “a learning journey,” where being wrong isn’t the end, but the beginning. “As scary as it is to be wrong,” he says, it’s a necessary part of the discovery process. Whether experimenting in the lab or testing our thoughts and opinions in conversation with others, it’s about having the humility and curiosity to face the limits of our understanding. “When do you learn something? You learn something when you have a model about the world, and then you get some data that tells you you're wrong,” he says. “You learn nothing when you're right.” In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Teller and host Matt Abrahams discuss how embracing uncertainty drives innovation, why leaders should reward learning habits over outcomes, and how we learn the most when we’re not afraid to find that we might be wrong. To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium . Episode Reference Links: Astro Teller Astro’s Book: Sacred Cows Ep.70 Ideas Fuel Innovation: Why Your First Ideas Aren’t Always the Best Ep.20 Question Your Questions: How to Spark Creativity in Your Communication Connect: Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn , Instagram<