Fixable Intelligent failure with Amy Edmondson | from Behind the Money
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Jul 28, 2025 
Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor and author of 'Right Kind of Wrong', joins Andrew Hill, Senior Business Writer at the Financial Times. They delve into the concept of intelligent failure, emphasizing its role as a valuable learning opportunity rather than a setback. Edmondson critiques Silicon Valley's 'fail fast' mantra, advocating for psychological safety in organizations to foster open communication and innovation. The discussion highlights different failure types and encourages leaders to embrace transparency and learning from mistakes.
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Types of Failure
- Amy Edmondson categorizes failure into basic, complex, and intelligent types.
- Intelligent failures are thoughtful experiments in new territories that can lead to valuable learning.
Personal Research Failure Sparked Discovery
- Amy's PhD study initially showed a failure when her hypothesis was contradicted by data.
- This led her to discover the importance of psychological safety in teams.
Critique of "Fail Fast" Mantra
- The popular mantra "fail fast, fail often" is oversimplified and misleading.
- Failure is not universally good; its value depends heavily on context.
