Our Story
Learn from Failure helps organizations turn setbacks into strengths. Founded by Bob Sicina and Babak Hafezi—leaders with decades of global executive experience—the firm equips companies to navigate uncertainty and make decision-making a core competency.​
A McKinsey study found that 80% of executives believe their companies do not excel at decision-making. Further, nearly 40% of their time is spent making decisions, and most admit that much of that time is wasted. Learn from Failure was created to close these gaps.​
Bob and Babak have led in complex, high-stakes environments and they understand the cost of weak decision processes. They bring proven frameworks, practical tools, and disciplined guidance to help companies build stronger decision-making cultures.
Their mission is clear: to help businesses turn failure into lasting advantage by embedding efficient, effective decision-making at every level.
Meet Our Team
Robert 'Bob' Sicina
Co-Founder
Bob Sicina is a former senior executive at Citibank and American Express, where he held roles including CFO of Citibank’s U.S. Credit Card Group and President of American Express Bank Ltd. serving on its Board of Directors. He has led multiple entrepreneurial ventures and later spent two decades teaching international business at American University. Today, through his consulting practice and his book Learn from Failure: The Key to Successful Decision Making, Bob helps organizations transform setbacks into smarter decisions and lasting growth.
Babak Hafezi
Co-Founder
Babak Hafezi is a global business strategist with deep expertise in strategy, growth, turnarounds, capitalization, and international market entry, sought after by CEOs, boards, and government officials. His guidance has led companies to achieve positive cash flow, valuation growth, successful capital raises, and effective international expansion. With professional experience across North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond, he brings a truly international perspective to technology, life sciences, and consumer goods industries.
Finding Opportunity at Every Turn
Our Approach
Although each client engagement is unique, we typically start with a seminar discussion to determine the best approach for the client.​
​In this setting, with the client’s senior management team, the Learn from Failure team teaches the fundamentals of their thesis on decision making, adding richness and color to the material, peppering it with real life examples.
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The Learn from Failure team works with the client’s senior management team on ‘homework’ assignments outside of the classroom, selecting and preparing material for classroom discussion. Through these assignments, the client’s senior management team is encouraged to share examples of their own for discussion and analysis.
​Once the fundamentals are clearly understood and embraced by the senior management team, the Learn from Failure team works with the client’s team on live decisions ensuring that the right decision-making processes are followed so that personal biases do not creep into the decision making. When the senior management team’s confidence is validated, our work is done, but not before the client’s signoff.