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Speaking of Psychology

How to fail successfully, with Amy Edmondson, PhD, and Samuel West, PhD

Speaking of Psychology

Kim Mills

Health & Fitness, Life Sciences, Science, Mental Health

4.3781 Ratings

🗓️ 17 January 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Remember New Coke? Colgate frozen lasagna? The Hawaii chair? History is littered with commercial failures. Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, PhD, author of “Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well,” and organizational psychologist Samuel West, PhD, curator of the Museum of Failure, talk about some of commerce’s biggest flops, the difference between simply failing and “failing well;” and how individuals and organizations can get past the fear of failure, recognize its potential upsides and learn from their mistakes. For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Tis the season for feasts to astound. With Liddle's turkeys, you'll satisfy all round.

0:05.3

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0:10.2

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0:12.8

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0:16.8

Little.com.org slash spend less while stocks last exclusions apply.

0:20.5

Have you ever heard of the

0:21.8

hawaii chair it's a gyrating desk chair which came on the market in 2007 and promised to give

0:29.1

your abs a workout while you sat at your desk it feels great on my abs i can really feel this working

0:35.0

hawaii chair while answering phones using using the computer, balancing books, or filing paperwork.

0:41.3

It turned out, though, that office workers didn't want to hula at their desks, and the chair was a flop.

0:47.3

Today it's memorialized in the Museum of Failure, a pop-up exhibition of some of Commerce's most misguided products.

0:56.6

Other failures in the museum you might or might not remember.

1:00.4

New Coke, Google Glass, the Newton, Colgate frozen lasagna, really, by the same company

1:08.4

that makes toothpaste. The museum is funny, but its exhibits also highlight a serious point that psychologists say is underrated.

1:16.6

There is no progress without failure.

1:19.6

And that's as true for organizations as it is for individuals.

1:23.6

So what's the difference between simply failing and failing well?

1:34.2

How do you get past the emotional sting of failure, recognize its potential upsides, and learn from your mistakes?

1:37.8

How can you set yourself up for productive failures in life?

1:43.2

And how do companies and other organizations benefit from productive failures in the marketplace.

1:49.4

Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association that examines the links between psychological science and everyday life.

1:53.8

I'm Kim Mills.

...

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