In writing The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, I wanted to challenge the way we think about mistakes, leadership, and organizational culture.
Throughout my career, I've seen firsthand how the traditional responses to mistakes–punishment, fear, and blame–can stifle growth and innovation. The ideas I present in the book are meant to provoke thought and, in some cases, to stir debate.
Here in this post, I'd like to share and dig into five of the most controversial quotes and concepts from the book, explaining why they're important and how they can transform the way we work.
I'm happy to be talking about these ideas on Wednesday at the Michigan Lean Consortium annual conference. Say hi if you're there!
1. “Punishment should be the exception, not the norm.”
This quote might raise some eyebrows, especially in organizations where punishment is seen as the go-to response to mistakes. I get it–punishment seems like a straightforward way to enforce rules and maintain discipline.
But what I've seen, over and over again, is that when punishment is the norm, it creates a culture of fear. People become more focused on avoiding punishment than on learning or improving. They hide their mistakes, and when mistakes are hidden, they can't be addressed or corrected.
I believe punishment should be reserved for truly exceptional cases–those involving willful misconduct or repeated negligence, for example. In most situations, it's far more effective to address the root causes of mistakes, which are often systemic rather than personal. By making punishment the exception rather than the rule, we create a culture where people feel safe to admit mistakes, discuss them openly, and learn from them. This shift is crucial for fostering continuous improvement and innovation.
Read more from a CEO who agrees that a problem-solving culture is better than a finger-pointing culture:
2. “A culture of fear and punishment drives mistakes underground.”
Continuing on the theme of fear and punishment, I've observed that when these are the driving forces in an organization, mistakes don't disappear–they just go underground. This idea might be controversial because it suggests that many organizations, especially those that pride themselves on discipline and accountability, might actually be doing more harm than good by fostering a fear-based culture.
When employees fear punishment, they're less likely to report mistakes or speak up about problems. This lack of transparency can allow small issues to fester and grow into much larger problems. Instead of driving mistakes underground, we need to bring them into the light where they can be addressed and learned from. The goal should be to create an environment where people feel safe to speak up, knowing that their honesty will lead to positive outcomes, not retribution.
Here's more on shifting away from punishment:
3. “The real failure isn't making mistakes–it's failing to learn from them.”
This quote is one of my favorites because it reframes how we think about failure. In many organizations, mistakes are seen as something to be avoided at all costs. There's an underlying belief that perfection is the goal, and any deviation from that goal is a failure. But the truth is, mistakes are inevitable–especially in environments that encourage innovation and risk-taking.
If you're trying to do new things, innovating or improving, you should expect mistakes. There are, of course, some types of process mistakes that we should try very hard to mistake proof, such as production defects or medication errors.
The real failure, in my view, is not the mistake itself but the failure to learn from it. If we can shift our focus from avoiding mistakes to understanding and learning from them, we can create a culture that's more resilient and adaptive. This idea might be controversial because it suggests that leaders should not only accept mistakes but also embrace them as necessary components of growth. It's a shift from seeing mistakes as purely negative to recognizing them as opportunities for learning and improvement.
Here's a blog post about a story I heard at the MLC conference last year… about a process that wasn't exactly on the frontier of innovation:
4. “Leaders must create conditions where people feel safe to admit mistakes–telling them to be brave isn't enough.”
I often hear leaders tell their teams to “be brave” and speak up about mistakes or issues. While the intention is good, I believe this expectation is misguided. Simply telling people to be brave doesn't address the real barriers that prevent them from speaking up–namely, the fear of negative consequences.
This idea is controversial because it shifts the responsibility from individual employees to the leadership and the broader organizational culture. If employees don't feel safe admitting mistakes, it's not because they lack courage–it's because the environment isn't conducive to openness. Leaders have to actively work to create a culture of psychological safety where admitting mistakes is not only accepted but encouraged. This requires more than just words; it requires consistent actions that demonstrate a commitment to learning and improvement over punishment and blame.
Read more on this:
5. “Blame the process, not the people.”
This concept challenges one of the most deeply ingrained practices in many organizations: holding individuals accountable for mistakes through blame. Traditional approaches often focus on identifying who is responsible for an error and ensuring they are held accountable, sometimes through disciplinary action. However, I believe this approach is misguided.
Most mistakes are not the result of individual incompetence or negligence; they are the result of flawed processes. When we focus on blaming people, we miss the opportunity to address the underlying issues that caused the mistake in the first place. By blaming the process instead, we can focus on improving the system, which in turn reduces the likelihood of the same mistake happening again.
This idea can be controversial because it requires a fundamental shift in how we think about accountability. It's not about letting people off the hook or excusing poor performance. It's about recognizing that most errors are systemic and that real improvement comes from fixing those systems, not from blaming individuals.
Here's a post about the need to shift beyond blame in healthcare:
Conclusion
The ideas I've shared in The Mistakes That Make Us are meant to challenge the status quo. I know they can be controversial, but I believe they're necessary for creating a culture of learning, innovation, and continuous improvement. By rethinking how we approach mistakes–whether it's reducing our reliance on punishment, fostering psychological safety, or focusing on processes rather than people–we can build stronger, more resilient organizations.
I hope these ideas spark conversation and reflection. After all, it's through challenging our assumptions and exploring new perspectives that we can truly grow and improve. Thank you for being part of this journey with me. I'd love to hear what you think.
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Check out my latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation:
