

The 3 Types of Failure (And How to Learn From Each)
93 snips Nov 1, 2023
Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School leadership professor and author of "The Right Kind of Wrong," explores the three types of failure: intelligent, basic, and complex. She emphasizes how reframing failure as a learning opportunity can enhance personal and organizational growth. Edmondson discusses the importance of psychological safety in fostering a supportive environment for risk-taking. By sharing real-world examples, she highlights strategies to navigate failures effectively, illustrating how to transform setbacks into valuable insights.
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Aversion to Failure
- Organizational learning is crucial in a changing world.
- This learning is hindered by an aversion to failure, especially in complex environments.
Context Matters
- "Fail fast, fail often" is not universally applicable.
- Different contexts demand different approaches to failure, such as surgery versus software development.
Intelligent Failures
- Intelligent failures are undesired outcomes in new territories.
- They happen while pursuing goals, testing hypotheses, and minimizing risks.