Failure culture in organisations:

Hardly any cultural transformation, innovation strategy or top team retrospective today can do without the topic of failure culture. It has become a recurring key concept in many organisations - and yet its implementation often remains vague or ambivalent.

Three examples from DAX 40 companies show how present the topic has become:

• For the implementation of the new corporate strategy, top management considered error culture to be the central cultural field of action.
• In new leadership principles, error culture was provided with double behavioural anchors ("learn from mistakes", "learn from failures").
• When carving out a business area, a culture of error was demanded as an enabler for greater speed.

Nevertheless, in practice we see that many companies find it difficult to implement an failure culture in practice.

Why is "failing" so difficult?

One reason lies in the language: while the English word "failure" often has a neutral or even constructive connotation in a business context, the German word "Versagen" has a much harsher connotation. Jack Lemmon's sentence "Failure seldom stops you. What stops you, is fear of failure" sounds very different in German.

What's more:

• Post-heroic narratives are more common in literature than in day-to-day management practice: boards often still play hardball instead of viewing mistakes as part of the learning journey.
• Some managers continue to follow Bismarck: "Only a fool learns from his own mistakes, a clever man learns from the mistakes of others."
• In many white collar areas, mistakes are an opportunity for reprimand, not appreciation - a feedback logic that undermines a positive error culture.
• In blue-collar contexts, harsh tones or robust reactions are often justified with safety risks or cultural differences.

Why error culture matters - especially today

Despite stagnating Google searches for the term, the need for a practised error culture is greater than ever. Organisations that deal openly with mistakes learn faster, avoid repetition and strengthen trust and innovative power.

However, error culture is not a sure-fire success. It needs to be built up, supported and, above all, continuously exemplified culturally. Our experience shows: The following key levers are important for effectively anchoring an error culture.

1. clarify different understandings

Not all error cultures are the same. For some, it means: Admitting mistakes openly. For others: Learning from mistakes. Still others see it as the basis for a continuous learning culture. A common language is a prerequisite.

2. root cause analysis in the top team

Error culture starts at the top: through psychological understanding, open reflection and conscious agreements on specific practices in the management team.

3. defusing leadership dilemmas, balancing power and vulnerability
balance power and vulnerability

A culture of error demands vulnerability - a contradiction to the logic of power. Protected spaces, peer groups and hierarchical awareness help to resolve this balancing act.

4. teams as a safe learning space

Error culture works above all on a small scale: in teams with familiarity, security and space for honest reflection. Scaling then takes place through multipliers: learning insights from teams (but only the results, no justifications!) can be transferred to larger groups.

5. establish continuous feedback

A culture of error needs feedback - not as a compulsory exercise, but as an established ritual in everyday working life. It is essential that praise comes before a healthy error culture.

6. institutionalise retro formats

Agile rituals such as retrospectives help teams to regularly learn from mistakes - in a playful and structured way.

7. reduce bureaucracy, share responsibility

Less rules, more freedom. Reflect on mistakes pragmatically at team/project level first. And instead of looking for people to blame: promote collective responsibility for learning.

8. promote lifelong learning - through nudges and role models

Micro-learning, gamification and honest role models from the leadership team lower inhibitions and encourage people.

9. reward mistakes - like Jean-Claude Biver

Jean-Claude Biver (ex-LVMH) rewarded openly shared mistakes in management meetings with a CHF 1,000 spot bonus. His message: those who speak openly about mistakes drive the organisation forward - and deserve recognition.

10 Anchoring learning processes systemically

Error culture must not remain an isolated measure. Databases with AI analyses ("Lesson-
Learned-Databases"), learning checks (integrated into project go/no-go decisions) and clear mechanisms (prevention roadmaps) are needed to ensure that findings are permanently retained.

Next Steps: Actively shaping a culture of error

• Failure fitness check: How often does your team talk openly about failed initiatives - without apportioning blame?
• Start small: A "fail-of-the-month" ritual in the team (focussed on lessons learned) helps to reduce fears.
• Leadership starts with yourself: A culture of error only works if managers make their own mistakes visible. Otherwise it remains theatre.