Big Think It doesn’t matter if you fail. It matters _how_ you fail. _ Amy Edmondson for Big Think +
18 snips
Aug 23, 2025 
Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and author of 'Right Kind of Wrong,' dives deep into the nature of failure. She discusses three archetypes of failure, emphasizing how only one can enhance future success. Edmondson challenges the stigma around failing, advocating for a mindset that embraces intelligent failures as crucial learning experiences. She also outlines four criteria for failing smarter, encouraging listeners to view mistakes as stepping stones to growth and discovery.
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Failure Is Part Of Success
- Amy Edmondson argues that the cultural belief "success means never failing" is false and harmful.
- She frames failure as a normal part of progress toward success rather than a personal defect.
Three Types Of Failure
- Edmondson defines three failure types: basic, complex, and intelligent, and only intelligent failure is productive.
- Intelligent failures generate new knowledge and are distinct from trivial mistakes or multi-cause disasters.
Simple Errors Can Be Huge
- A basic failure happens in known territory from a simple error, ranging from minor spills to massive money transfer mistakes.
- Edmondson uses a Citibank $900 million transfer to illustrate how a simple mistake can become enormous.
