{"id":144898,"date":"2025-07-17T10:31:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T14:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=144898"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:34:16","slug":"right-kind-of-wrong-the-science-of-failing-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/right-kind-of-wrong-the-science-of-failing-well\/","title":{"rendered":"Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well (Overview)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you cringe when things don’t go according to plan? Is your fear of failure<\/a> holding you back<\/a> from success?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy Edmondson’s book Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well<\/em> can help you turn your defeats into stepping stones for growth. Edmondson\u2019s process involves learning from past failures to achieve better outcomes in the future, putting a positive spin on mistakes and setbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more in our book overview of Right Kind of Wrong<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Overview of <\/strong>Right Kind of Wrong<\/em><\/strong> by Amy Edmondson<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many people view failure as shameful or painful, and try to avoid it at all costs. However, Amy Edmondson\u2019s Right Kind of Wrong<\/em>: The Science of Failing Well<\/em><\/a> offers a more balanced perspective: Failures are inevitable, and they can be essential stepping stones toward future successes. She argues that failures have been crucial to scientific discoveries, technological advancements, and individual achievements<\/strong> because the people who made them were willing to take risks and learn from their missteps. With the right mindset and tools, you too can transform defeats and shortcomings into innovations and personal growth<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edmondson is a professor at Harvard Business School<\/a>, where she earned her doctorate in organizational behavior. She specializes in teamwork and psychological safety<\/a>, and has published numerous books<\/a> on those topics. Right Kind of Wrong<\/em><\/a>, published in 2023, is based on the expertise that Edmondson developed through decades of research, teaching, and consulting work. However, she\u2019s best known for developing the concept of psychological safety within organizations<\/a>, combining academic theory with strategies to help create more adaptable, innovative, and humane workplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognizing That It\u2019s Safe to Fail<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To begin, Edmondson says that turning setbacks into opportunities for innovation and growth requires you to embrace the idea that failures\u2014which she defines as results that differ from the desired outcome<\/strong>\u2014are inevitable, and usually aren\u2019t cause for shame or punishment. In short, she urges you to cultivate psychological safety <\/em>regarding failure: the idea that failures should be freely shared and discussed for the common good, rather than hidden out of embarrassment or fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this section, we\u2019ll discuss how you can develop a mindset of embracing failure<\/a>, and how you can help to create an organizational culture<\/a> that welcomes failures as learning opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal: Developing a \u201cFail-Safe\u201d Mindset<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Edmondson begins by saying that a crucial part of personal growth and success is not just accepting, but embracing your fallibility. In other words, it\u2019s not enough to rationally understand that you\u2019ll sometimes make mistakes\u2014you must also come to terms emotionally with the idea that you\u2019re an imperfect human being, and that\u2019s OK. <\/strong>To help you achieve this shift in mindset, the author suggests several skills you can develop to start building a healthier relationship with failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To develop a healthy relationship<\/a> with failure, the first skill to cultivate is resilience<\/em><\/strong>, the ability to keep trying after you encounter a setback.<\/strong> Edmondson explains that many people fear failure because they view it as final: If an endeavor doesn\u2019t go perfectly, they immediately give up and walk away from it. In contrast, developing the resilience to push through the embarrassment and frustration that failure often triggers makes it seem much less threatening. With resilience, you understand that you can keep working toward your goals even if something goes wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second skill Edmondson discusses is accountability<\/em><\/strong>\u2014recognizing and admitting to your role in a failure.<\/strong> For example, perhaps you made a mistake, misunderstood an important piece of information, or simply overlooked something during your planning process. Accountability means acknowledging the mistake you made without shifting the blame to someone else. It also means apologizing and making amends when your actions harm others, even accidentally. While owning up to your personal failures is briefly uncomfortable, this practice will ease your feelings of guilt, making your mistakes and failures much less painful in the long run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third and final skill the author urges you to practice is reflection<\/em><\/strong>\u2014examining your past failures so you can learn from them and do better in the future.<\/strong> Reflection empowers you to view failure as an opportunity worth embracing, rather than as something negative to be avoided. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizational: Building a \u201cFail-Safe\u201d Culture<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Developing a healthy personal mindset about failure is an important first step, but Edmondson\u2019s primary goal is to help organizations <\/em>develop work cultures that embrace failure and learn from it. The goal is to create a culture where conversations about mistakes and setbacks become a natural part of life in the workplace. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She argues that such work cultures are crucial in today\u2019s rapidly evolving business environment, where adaptation and learning are essential for survival. Therefore, organizations that embrace experimentation and risk-taking have the potential for major breakthroughs and growth. Conversely, organizations that are too failure-averse to take risks will miss important opportunities and eventually fail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Openly Discussing Failures<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Edmondson says that organizations should strive to be places where workers can share setbacks, express doubts, and take calculated risks without fear of reprimand or punishment. This culture of safety promotes the sort of brainstorming<\/a> and experimentation that drives innovation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An organization\u2019s leadership plays a crucial role in creating such an environment. The author says that the first step is for leaders to model the behavior they want to see,<\/strong> which means candidly discussing their own failures. For example, suppose a company\u2019s CEO publicly shares a mistake they made and how it cost the company a lucrative contract. Sharing that story sends a clear message to employees that it\u2019s acceptable to talk about their own mistakes (which were probably much less impactful). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edmondson also urges those in leadership roles to encourage workers to tell their own stories about mistakes they\u2019ve made<\/strong> and setbacks they\u2019ve faced. She suggests creating spaces where employees can openly share such stories, such as a forum on the company intranet. This will have two major benefits: First, it will allow workers to offer each other advice about the problems they\u2019re dealing with. Second, it will help them share valuable insights with the whole organization, rather than letting those ideas stay isolated within specific departments or teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rewarding Good Failures<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Creating a workplace where it\u2019s safe to fail is a good start. However, as with your personal mindset, Edmondson urges you to work toward an organizational culture that embraces <\/em>failure rather than merely accepting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edmondson says that organizational leaders should review and analyze past failures with the people involved whenever possible. For instance, a store manager could do this during team meetings and individual performance reviews. The purpose of these analyses is to determine the root causes of each failure, then come up with actionable ideas to avoid similar problems in the future.<\/strong> Edmondson emphasizes that such reviews aren\u2019t about blaming or punishing anyone, but rather about finding ways to improve individual, team, or company performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other strategy Edmondson proposes is to publicly recognize and reward \u201cgood\u201d failures<\/strong>\u2014those in which the value of the lessons learned outweighs the costs of the mistake. This will reinforce the importance of learning from failure<\/a> and encourage workers to take reasonable risks that could lead to further useful discoveries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Importance of Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Edmondson\u2019s discussion of creating an environment where it\u2019s safe to fail comes with one crucial caveat: Sometimes it\u2019s <\/strong>not <\/em><\/strong>safe to fail.<\/strong> Therefore, it\u2019s important to evaluate the context you\u2019re working in. This will help you determine the appropriate level of caution for your situation so that you can avoid genuinely harmful mistakes and encourage productive, educational failures. The author urges you to consider two factors relevant to your situation\u2014the level of unpredictability and the level of risk\u2014and find the appropriate balance between caution and experimentation based on your analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Context Factor #1: The Level of Unpredictability<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The first factor to consider is the level of unpredictability in what you\u2019re doing. Edmondson presents a range of levels of uncertainty: <\/p>\n\n\n\n