Right Kind of Wrong by Amy C. Edmondson

RIGHT KIND OF WRONG by Amy C. Edmondson is a thorough examination of “The Science of Failing Well.” Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor writes about the Failure Landscape and Practicing the Science of Failing Well in the two main sections of her new book. For example, she describes Basic Failures – those everyday errors which often occur due to inattention, making assumptions, or over confidence – and contrasts them with Complex Failures and with Intelligent Failures. Edmondson clearly illustrates how these failure types differ in terms of preventability and uncertainty and she employs memorable examples (e.g., Citibank transferring $900 million in principle instead of $8 million in interest or pilots not recognizing the need to turn on de-icing equipment under unusually cold conditions). For more information from Edmondson about “productive failures” and conducting post-mortems, check out her interview in Harvard Business Review. RIGHT KIND OF WRONG received a starred review from Library Journal (“information-rich study”). See also The Perfection Trap by Thomas Curran or Never Enough by Jennifer Breheny Wallace which garnered a positive blurb from Lisa Damour.