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 and innovation for 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.
To learn more check out our list of Fail Forward suggested readings.
A note of attribution:
Our ability to help folks put these concepts into practice is only made possible by standing on the shoulders of the giants who are doing incredible academic research. In acknowledgement of their great work, it was Sim Sitkin who first defined Intelligent Failure in Learning through failure: The strategy of small losses by identifying five characteristics of intelligent failures. His characteristics seem to align well with what Amy Edmondson calls praiseworthy failures. (For the purpose of making these ideas actionable, we’ve chosen to adopt Edmondson’s language for praiseworthy failures and expand the meaning of Intelligent Failure so it can be used as a catch-all to describe the ideal way of interacting with failure defined above.) And while David A. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory wasn’t top of mind as we developed the model for Intelligent Failure, upon reflection, there’s a lot of overlap!
The work of these people, and that of many others, has offered invaluable learning and fundamentally shaped the work we do.