A Field Guide for Responsible Failure
“Fail fast, fail often” is a dangerous half-truth.
Failing fast hurts when you keep falling into the same hole. Failing isn’t smart when you don’t learn.
Responsible failure produces wisdom.
Bad Failure
Reckless failure:
- Skips preparation and calls it “trying stuff”
- Ignores feedback and trusts luck
- Repeats mistakes and blames circumstances
Negligent failure wastes time, kills trust, and burns out teams.
Responsible Failure
“Failure is not always bad. In fact, some failures are inevitable and even necessary if we are to grow, learn, and innovate.” – Amy Edmondson
Failing responsibly is courageous and thoughtful, not negligent and sloppy.
3 Ways Teams Practice Responsible Failure
#1 Clarify Purpose
Vague goals justify wandering. Define useful failure.
Responsible failure answers seven questions.
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What makes you think your plan will work?
- How soon will you know if it’s working?
- How much will failure cost?
- What could go wrong?
- When will you share results?
- How will you know when to abandon your plan?
#2 Design for Learning
“The most valuable failures are those that occur in the pursuit of a worthy goal and produce new knowledge that helps us move forward.” – Amy Edmondson
Create projects with milestones. Checkpoints should be early in the process. Celebrate insight more than speed.
Make it safe to say, “I was wrong,” but not comfortable to stay wrong. Celebrate responsible failure—correct reckless fiascos.
#3 Establish a Debrief Agenda
At each milestone ask:
- What did you try?
- How did it work?
- What did you learn?
- What are you going to do differently?
Final Thought
Failure becomes a badge of honor when it’s responsible.
Don’t fail fast and often. Fail responsibly.
Read Amy Edmondson’s book: The Right Kind of Wrong
I really like the questions under #1. As the saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. It doesn’t mean you should get stuck in the planning phase forever. And those questions will help you focus up front in a fairly short time.
Thanks Jennifer. Sometimes we get so busy doing stuff we forget to reflect on what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and if it’s worthwhile to do in the first place.
Planning is useful, but success also depends on whether you and your team have the knowledge, skills, and motivation to carry it out. When things go wrong, ask yourself: Was the plan flawed? What was overlooked? Did people lack the ability or drive to execute it? And most importantly, what lessons can be learned from the experience?
A team might plan to win the Super Bowl, but there are many factors involved to actually do it. A plan isn’t success.