The BNH Book Review: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well

“Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well”
by Amy Edmondson

2023/Atria Books
$28.99/368 pages

You’ve gone over your paperwork, corrected punctuation and fact-checked the numbers. Imagine how embarrassed you’ll be when an error is spotted. Or maybe you’ll be nonplussed. Some errors, says author Amy Edmondson, are good. They’re “informative, but still undesired,” which makes them “the right kind of wrong” and losing a chance to learn from that is a mistake in itself.

To change your perception of failure, first know, when you’ve failed that avoidance, confusion and fear will lead to missed opportunities. Start by re-framing what happened. Remember that not having the right answer gives you a chance to keep looking for one, which can lead to happy accidents. Stay curious but do your homework and pay attention. Learn why shame shouldn’t factor into what you do. Still, don’t treat any failure lightly because some mistakes can be “downright catastrophic.” And bosses should give employees a chance to fail correctly and a safe place to be wrong.

Every time a new book comes out with a FAILURE IS GOOD message, you cringe. Rather than encouraging a gloss-over, Edmondson uses science and real-life anecdotal evidence to explain how failures differ between people and situations and how failure might be your best pal. Those stories are what ground-floor employees will appreciate. For C-Suiters and managers, the psychology inside this book should give you impetus to make change. Imagine a safe workplace where your employees feel comfortable bringing innovation to the job and the big wins that could occur.