Intelligent Failure
smart risk taking and maximum learning
Welcome to a healthy relationship with failure
Intelligent Failure
smart risk taking and maximum learning
Welcome to a healthy relationship with failure
Failure is inevitable
In almost everything we do, there are aspects we could have done better.
To ensure those failures - big and small - lead to learning, innovation and better performance, we must fail intelligently.
Intelligent failures are those that result in useful learning, allowing us to move forward more wisely. As we build this healthy relationship with failure, we create room to innovate, knowing any risks we take will only lead to learning and growth.
How do we fail intelligently?
When we fail intelligently, failure, learning and innovation are inextricably linked. Those links are illustrated by this loop.
It is always possible to move forward from failure stronger and wiser. To do this, we must:
Detect failures as early as possible and speak up about them;
Respond positively and get curious about what we can learn from the situation;
Make changes to our mindsets, behaviours, and the way we do our work to improve our performance and ensure we don’t repeat the failure; and
Take smart risks and experiment with new ideas in pursuit of innovation.
Unfortunately, most of our instincts, learned behaviours, and organizational norms cause us to exit the loop.
That’s why the skill of Intelligent Failure takes practice.
Intelligent Failure is a learned skill THAT EVERYONE can practicE and strengthen.
the practices
Just as there are four exits off the Intelligent Failure loop, there are four practices that help us stay on.
Ready to accept change, stop what’s not working, and expand what you’re capable of?
Quote: Mistakes are learning opportunities
Leaders must constantly emphasize that mistakes are learning opportunities rather than cause for embarrassment or punishment, and they must act in ways that reinforce that message... Fail Forward, a Toronto-based consulting firm that helps companies learn how to benefit from blunders, often begins by asking a client’s employees questions such as “Do you take risks in the course of your work?” and “Is learning from failure formally supported?”
— Harvard Business Review, 2015
Read the article
Quote: Mistakes are learning opportunities
Leaders must constantly emphasize that mistakes are learning opportunities rather than cause for embarrassment or punishment, and they must act in ways that reinforce that message... Fail Forward, a Toronto-based consulting firm that helps companies learn how to benefit from blunders, often begins by asking a client’s employees questions such as “Do you take risks in the course of your work?” and “Is learning from failure formally supported?”
— Harvard Business Review, 2015
Read the article