Freakonomics Radio

562. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 2: Life and Death

Oct 19, 2023

Join Amy Edmondson, a Harvard leadership professor, Carole Hemmelgarn, patient safety advocate, and Gary Klein, a cognitive psychologist, as they dive into the intricate world of medical failure. They discuss profound stories that unveil systemic issues in healthcare, emphasizing the need for transparency and communication to prevent tragedies. The conversation also explores how to learn from failures constructively, shifting focus from blame to understanding, and highlights the role of resilience and relationships in navigating setbacks for greater innovation.

54:03

Creator website

Episode guests

Amy C. Edmondson

Gary Klein

Carole Hemmelgarn

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Quick takeaways

Failure is a crucial part of scientific research and entrepreneurship, leading to significant advancements.

Effective communication and collaboration are essential for the success of large-scale projects.

Creating an environment where failure is not stigmatized encourages innovation, learning, and growth.

Deep dives

The Importance of Learning from Failure

The podcast episode highlights the significance of learning from failure and its role in various fields. It emphasizes the importance of embracing failure as a stepping stone towards success. Carol Hemelgarn narrates the tragic medical failure that changed her life and her subsequent advocacy work in patient safety. The episode also explores the spectrum of causes of failure, as described by Amy Edmondson, ranging from blame-worthy acts to praiseworthy experimentation. Moreover, Bob Langer discusses the role of failure in scientific research and entrepreneurship, emphasizing the need to persist and the potential for failure to lead to significant advancements.

The Role of Task Challenge in Failure

01:47

Analyzing Failure: NHS IT Fiasco and Lack of Experimentation

01:26

Causes of Failures: Sabotage and Deviance

00:43

Learning from Failures

01:13

Intro

2min

Lessons from Tragedy: A Call for Healthcare Reform

15min

Understanding Preventable Adverse Drug Events in Healthcare

2min

Understanding Failure: A Multifaceted Approach

3min

Understanding Failure: A Spectrum of Causes

12min

Understanding Failure: Case Studies and Complexities

3min

The Challenges of Implementing Electronic Patient Records in Healthcare

2min

Embracing Failure: Lessons from IT and Science

18min

Resilience Through Relationships

4min

In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department.

RESOURCES:

Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, by Amy Edmondson (2023).
"Reconsidering the Application of Systems Thinking in Healthcare: The RaDonda Vaught Case," by Connor Lusk, Elise DeForest, Gabriel Segarra, David M. Neyens, James H. Abernathy III, and Ken Catchpole (British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2022).
"Dispelling the Myth That Organizations Learn From Failure," by Jeffrey Ray (SSRN, 2016).
"A New, Evidence-Based Estimate of Patient Harms Associated With Hospital Care," by John T. James (Journal of Patient Safety, 2013).
To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, by the National Academy of Sciences (1999).
"Polymers for the Sustained Release of Proteins and Other Macromolecules," by Robert Langer and Judah Folkman (Nature, 1976).

EXTRAS:

"How to Succeed at Failing," series by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
"Will a Covid-19 Vaccine Change the Future of Medical Research?" by Freakonomics Radio (2020).
"Bad Medicine, Part 3: Death by Diagnosis," by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

SOURCES:

Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School.
Carole Hemmelgarn, co-founder of Patients for Patient Safety U.S. and director of the Clinical Quality, Safety & Leadership Master’s program at Georgetown University.
Gary Klein, cognitive psychologist and pioneer in the field of naturalistic decision making.
Robert Langer, institute professor and head of the Langer Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
John Van Reenen, professor at the London School of Economics.

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Freakonomics Radio

562. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 2: Life and Death

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Importance of Learning from Failure

Lessons from a Massive IT Failure

Bob Langer's Journey of Persistence

Understanding and Analyzing Failure

The Cultural Significance of Failure

The Role of Task Challenge in Failure

Analyzing Failure: NHS IT Fiasco and Lack of Experimentation

Causes of Failures: Sabotage and Deviance

Learning from Failures

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts