Strategies for learning from failure (April 2011)

Summary

Many executives believe that all failure is bad (although it usually provides lessons) and that learning from it is pretty straightforward. Amy C. Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School, thinks both beliefs are misguided. In organisational life, she says, some failures are inevitable and some are even good. And successful learning from failure is not simple: It requires context-specific strategies. But first leaders must understand how the blame game gets in the way and work to create an organizational culture in which employees feel safe admitting or reporting on failure.