American business success tends to feed off a narrative of continual rise and winning. However, lives and careers are full of setbacks, and most do not know how to handle these towards a positive effect. Failing well is not an idea with wide acceptance. Many leaders fear permissiveness of failure will lead to a downward cycle in performance. Amy Edomondson, a business professor who studies organizational failures, believes that this pervasive culture needs to change. In this book, she suggests that we learn from failures and strategically use them to propel towards greater success.

Science is the field where failure is probably used most beneficially and without stigma. Most scientific and technological advancements occur after dozens if not hundreds or thousands of failed attempts. The principle problem is not failure; rather, it is failing to learn from failure. This concept of growing from failure, Edmondson labels as “failing well.” In a scholarly manner, she suggests that industries such as organizational leadership, family relationships, entrepreneurship, and healthcare need to learn this skill better.

Edmondson first stumbled upon the idea of failing well when pursuing research into medical errors in graduate school. She found that, surprisingly, the best performing medical teams report the most errors. Her interpretation, formed after much discussion and thought, became that the best teams make a psychologically safe space to report failures, which is why their numbers are the highest. Worse teams simply are afraid to deal with these dynamics as a team. She extrapolates from this central idea with examples in numerous, widely varying fields. Her case, fleshed out in decades of research, here lies accessible to a popular, non-academic audience.

Of course, many leaders remain skeptical of her efforts. “Failure is not tolerated” is a concept deeply embedded in business consciousness. But fear of failure can keep us from taking helpful risks that can lead to better success. More failure is not the answer; rather, it lies in better, smarter failure and progressive learning, just like scientists do. The world of organizational leadership, she contends, needs to value this ethic in order to enhance our collective output. Again, she shines the light about how in this book.

Professionally, I am a research scientist who fails safely and often. I remain skeptical that this book will change our wider business climate. If the leadership world can’t learn from Thomas Edison’s example with his thousands of failures, they’re not going to learn from an academic writing a carefully researched book.

However, some leaders will listen and adapt appropriately. And those leaders will be in better position to capture tomorrow’s crowns. Risk aversion is a common psychological pitfall of a ubiquitous pressure to succeed. Learning to avoid failures where nothing can be learned and learning the most from failures with something to teach is the only way forward. Edmondson here dissects what that means for larger groups of people. The wise should and will listen. ( )