Intelligent Failure
Failures that occur in pursuit of worthy goals, with appropriate risk management and learning.
Also known as: Good failure, Productive failure, Valuable failure
Category: Concepts
Tags: failures, innovations, learning, risk-taking, experimentation
Explanation
Intelligent failure is a concept from Amy Edmondson distinguishing valuable failures from preventable ones. Intelligent failures occur when: pursuing worthy goals, taking calculated risks, operating in uncertain territory, and generating learning. These contrast with: preventable failures (mistakes in known processes), complex failures (multiple factors in familiar operations), and reckless failures (unnecessary risks without learning). Characteristics of intelligent failures include: the opportunity was worth the risk, appropriate preparation was done, failure generated new knowledge, and the failure was contained (didn't cause catastrophic damage). Organizations need intelligent failures because: innovation requires experimentation, learning requires discovering what doesn't work, and competitive advantage requires trying new things. Promoting intelligent failure involves: rewarding thoughtful risk-taking, distinguishing failure types when evaluating, and creating psychological safety for appropriate experimentation. For knowledge workers, pursuing intelligent failures means: taking calculated risks on worthwhile projects, learning maximally from setbacks, and distinguishing between failures worth having and those that should be prevented.
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