Leadership Implications
What’s one leader behavior that shows support for learning from failure?
Admitting mistakes or asking learning-focused questions.
What is a “basic failure”? Example?
Preventable error, like missing data entry.
What are the 4 conditions?
In new territory, goal-driven, hypothesis-based, and proportionate.
What is psychological safety?
Feeling safe to speak up or make mistakes.
Example where early failure led to success?
Dyson prototypes or 3M Post-it glue.
What’s a “blameless post-mortem” and why use it?
Review errors without blame; helps teams learn and stay motivated.
What is a “complex failure”?
Caused by many factors, hard to trace one root cause.
Example of a hypothesis for testing a new product?
“Users will prefer 1-click checkout.”
What actions harm it?
Blaming or ignoring input.
How does SpaceX show “fail fast, learn faster”?
Tests rockets, learns, and fixes quickly.
How can rewards promote reflection instead of punishment?
Reward learning reports, not just success.
What is “intelligent failure”?
Thoughtful risk with purpose, limited scope, and learning.
What does “Proportionate” mean?
Keep risk small — test on a small scale first.
One technique to share failures safely?
Leader says: “Let’s talk about what we learned.”
Why are failed drug trials helpful?
Show what doesn’t work — saves future time
Compare Satya Nadella’s approach with another leader.
Nadella used “growth mindset”; other leaders changed meeting rules or feedback style to support learning.
Give an example with both complex and intelligent elements.
A healthcare test with many variables but designed to learn safely.
How do you know a pilot gave useful learning?
Data patterns, new insights, clear next steps.
Can safety and accountability coexist?
Yes — focus on learning, not punishment
Compare 3M and Dyson
Both treat failures as steps toward innovation.
Create 3–4 steps a leader should take after a failed pilot.
Debrief → document lessons → share → try again.
What 3 criteria classify failure type?
Predictability, preventability, and learning value.
How does Google or Netflix meet the 4 conditions?
Tests small, clear purpose, low risk, measures results, applies learnings.
How can a team measure safety?
Surveys, feedback rates, or open discussion frequency.
Example of a failed research project that produced learning?
A student pilot that failed but led to new survey design.