We all know how things don't always go as planned, and the problems that can result from them. However, some people don't pay enough attention to how those problems often lead to long-term solutions that would not have occurred were it not for the original and unanticipated problem happening.
I love the quote in the below linked article from a restaurant chain CEO which says "Never waste a crisis". It is included within the story about how they are recovering from a bankruptcy filing resulting from the pandemic and the steps they took. Over the years, I have found that people involved in a major crisis in the past are often great to work with because of their first hand knowledge of what was and "was not" done when it should have been. They make certain the same problem doesn't happen again, or if it could happen they know to run away as quickly as possible.
Over the years I find that a percentage of real estate developers, investors, and brokers do not take the time to review the entirety of a project or proposal in order to find exactly where and why a significant problem originated. This is exactly why I do my best to get my students and clients to track "everything" as a new project begins and progresses. Being able to go back and find that (for example) "If I had asked the lender about X, Y, and Z, I would have know that" moment that becomes the lesson for all future projects.
There are times when having a full understanding of what went wrong is more significant to a future project than focusing on what went "right".