"Embracing Failure," Professor Sarah Soule

Introduction and Curriculum Overview

• The presentation aims to set the tone for a reunion, preview some work on the curriculum, and discuss the topic of embracing failure, with the goal of having fun, interacting with each other, and learning about the power of the growth mindset (17s).
• The curriculum work involves collaboration with faculty from other departments, such as the theater department, to develop content that is research-based and encourages people to step out of their comfort zones through exercises (50s).
• A professor, Dan Kleene, who is an expert in improv and theater, has been involved in developing some of this content, and will be speaking at the reunion the following day (1m29s).
• The presentation begins with a short activity that involves partnering up and counting to three while taking turns, with the goal of doing it as fast as possible (3m22s).

Embracing Failure and the Growth Mindset

• The activity is then modified to include clapping instead of saying the word "one", and participants are encouraged to try again (4m29s).
• The purpose of the activity is not explicitly stated, but it appears to be related to the topic of embracing failure and the growth mindset (2m5s).
• When people make mistakes, they often exhibit physical reactions such as cringing, wincing, and pulling in, which may be due to the fear of being punished or judged by others for their failure (5m38s).
• To release tension when making mistakes, people can try laughing, but it's often not a full belly laugh, and instead, a more subdued reaction (6m17s).
• An alternative way to release tension when making mistakes is to pretend to be a circus performer who has just fallen and stand up, throw hands in the air, and say "Tada" (6m32s).
• When people say "Tada" after making a mistake, they often report feeling a sense of freedom and relief, although it may feel unnatural at first (7m26s).
• When both partners in an exercise say "Tada" after one of them makes a mistake, it can help to diffuse tension and create a sense of shared responsibility (8m17s).
• Embracing failure with a mental "Tada" can be beneficial, but there are situations where it would be inappropriate to react in such a way, such as in high-stakes professions like surgery (9m1s).

Understanding Different Types of Failure

• In situations where a "Tada" reaction is not suitable, it's still important for individuals to acknowledge and learn from their mistakes, rather than hiding or denying them (9m30s).
• Embracing failure is a common concept in Silicon Valley, but it's essential to deconstruct and understand failure better, differentiating between types of failure that should be celebrated and those that shouldn't (9m37s).
• Amy Edmonson, a Harvard Business School colleague, has written a book on failure, highlighting the importance of understanding the nuances of failure, particularly in high-stake situations like hospitals and surgical theaters (10m0s).
• Edmonson's work emphasizes the need to differentiate between blame-worthy failure, which occurs due to negligence or disregard for rules, and failure that happens despite taking all necessary precautions and following processes (10m55s).
• Blame-worthy failure requires leaders to take action and assign blame, whereas the other type of failure, often associated with scientific advancement and innovation, should be celebrated as it occurs during experimentation and despite best efforts to prevent it (11m28s).
• Edmonson's book discusses a continuum of failure, with blame-worthy failure on one end and experimental failure on the other, and highlights the importance of understanding the middle part of the continuum, where complex failure often occurs (13m17s).
• Complex failure happens when something is not perfect with organizational processes, and it's essential for leaders to navigate these situations effectively (13m30s).
• The development of open-heart surgery is an example of experimental failure that should be celebrated, as it involved many failures along the way, but ultimately led to a much less risky procedure (12m14s).
• Edmonson's work emphasizes the importance of understanding the right kind of wrong and celebrating failure that occurs during experimentation and innovation, while addressing blame-worthy failure (13m15s).
• Organizational culture involves processes, routines, and failure, but not all failures are the same, and leadership plays a crucial role in preventing complex failures that arise from organizational and team leadership failures (13m44s).

Developing a Growth Mindset

• A book on the topic suggests that while celebrating failure can be beneficial, it can also be simplistic, and a more nuanced approach is necessary (14m13s).
• An exercise can be done in groups of three or four where one person gives another person a "gift" and the recipient must respond with "oh good" and explain why they are thankful for the gift, promoting a positive and neutral attitude (14m39s).
• The exercise can help leaders develop a growth mindset by reframing constraints with an "oh good" attitude, as suggested by Carol Dweck's work on growth mindset (17m36s).
• This approach can be helpful in situations where leaders are faced with difficult constraints, such as a teammate struggling with a particular skill set, and can be an opportunity for growth and development (17m5s).
• By adopting an "oh good" attitude, leaders can turn potential negatives into positives and create a more helpful and supportive environment (16m56s).
• Research on growth mindset was traditionally done on school-age children, focusing on how they approached learning and what helped them master different subjects (17m56s).
• Children with a growth mindset approached topics with curiosity about the learning process, whereas those with a fixed mindset focused on the actual mastery of the topic and believed their abilities were innate (18m22s).
• A growth mindset can be contrasted with a fixed mindset, which is characterized by the belief that one's abilities are fixed and unchangeable (18m48s).
• Children with a fixed mindset tended to shut down or focus only on what they could do well, rather than embracing challenges and trying to grow and learn (19m25s).
• Research found that children with a growth mindset usually ended up performing better, were happier in life, and more satisfied and fulfilled compared to those with a fixed mindset (19m46s).
• Experiments were conducted in classrooms to compare two sets of children with similar scores and math abilities, with one group receiving feedback on their effort and process, and the other group receiving only a grade (20m8s).
• The results showed that children who received feedback on their effort and process ended up growing and doing better, while those who received only a grade declined over time (21m0s).
• Similar results were found in a second study, where children with a growth mindset did better even when they started out at a deficit (21m27s).
• The research emphasizes the importance of embracing a growth mindset, which is now being applied in organizations (21m41s).

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

• A set of questions was asked to gauge how good individuals are at certain tasks, including talking to strangers, singing, math, graphic design, learning new languages, and public speaking, with the goal of understanding fixed and growth mindsets (21m59s).
• The questions were designed to assess fixed mindset, which is domain-specific, and individuals can have a growth mindset in one domain and a fixed mindset in another (23m8s).
• Research by Carol Dweck highlights the importance of understanding that fixed and growth mindsets are not labels for individuals, but rather domain-specific (23m45s).
• Mary Murphy's book, "Cultures of Growth," explores how situations and contexts can trigger individuals into a more growth or fixed mindset, which is crucial for leaders to understand (24m17s).
• Leaders can trigger their people to be in a growth mindset space by understanding how situations and contexts affect mindsets, which can be beneficial for organizations and leadership (24m40s).
• Evaluative situations, such as delivering an academic paper or defending a dissertation, can trigger a fixed mindset, but can also be opportunities for growth and learning (25m1s).
• Critical feedback can also push individuals into a more or less fixed mindset position, depending on how it is delivered (25m40s).
• The success of others can be an interesting factor in triggering fixed or growth mindsets, and leaders should be aware of how this can affect their team members (26m2s).
• When someone close achieves success, it can either inspire or demotivate others, and as leaders, it's essential to promote a growth mindset within teams and organizations to foster inspiration and motivation (26m6s).

Cultivating a Growth Mindset in Organizations

• Leaders can set the culture of their teams and organizations, and they should think about how to promote a growth mindset, as seen in the example of Satya Nadella, who transformed Microsoft's culture after reading Carol Dweck's work (26m56s).
• Nadella wrote a book called "Hit Refresh" about changing Microsoft's culture, from small routines to client engagement, and has spent time thinking about how to incorporate a growth mindset into the organization (27m12s).
• Another example of applying Carol Dweck's work is the book "A Learning Mindset" by Carol Robin and David Bradford, which focuses on curiosity and approaching constraints with a mindset of "I wonder why this isn't working" (27m57s).
• This mindset can be more productive than blaming people, as seen in the work of Edmonson, and is related to Angela Duckworth's work on grit, which involves courage, resilience, optimism, and confidence in the face of constraints (28m55s).
• Constraints can be a source of great innovation, and thinking about playing with constraints can encourage a growth mindset, as seen in various business examples and personal experiences (29m41s).

Constraints and Innovation

• Mick Jagger learned to dance from Tina Turner, but he had to adapt her teachings to fit the smaller venues where the Rolling Stones performed, leading to his iconic dance moves (30m58s).
• Constraints can lead to innovation, as seen in the example of Mick Jagger's dance moves, and this concept can be applied to brainstorming sessions with teams and organizations (31m29s).
• An exercise was conducted where groups were asked to brainstorm ideas for a future reunion, with the constraint that each person had to start their sentence with the next letter of the alphabet (32m33s).
• The exercise demonstrated how constraints can lead to creative and sometimes humorous ideas, which can be developed into good ideas (33m40s).
• Constraints can be used in various contexts, such as in business, to drive innovation and creativity, as seen in the example of Southwest Airlines' unusual boarding process (34m2s).
• The boarding process was a result of constraints, and it has been studied in case studies taught at the GSB (34m18s).
• A company faced financial problems and had to sell one of its five planes, but instead of dropping a route, they decided to maximize the time in the air and minimize the time on the ground, leading to innovations in the boarding process and ticketing processes (34m27s).
• The company's constraint of having only four planes led to innovations in the industry, but it is unclear if the changes were successful in the long run (35m10s).

Group Shared Fake Memory Exercise

• A group exercise called "group shared fake memory" was conducted, where participants had to create a shared fake memory and agree on it in principle, but disagree on the details in the first round (35m37s).
• In the second round of the exercise, participants had to agree on the details and build on them, and were encouraged to make one of their teammates the hero of the memory (37m21s).
• The exercise was designed to promote teamwork and creativity, and participants observed that the second round felt happier, more motivating, and more uplifting than the first round (38m15s).
• The second round of the exercise also led to more interesting and creative ideas, with participants building on each other's contributions (38m41s).
• The exercise is similar to those used in the world of improv, where participants have to agree and build on each other's ideas (38m48s).
• A principle from improv is to make people look good, which helps build trust among partners and encourages them to protect and support each other, even when mistakes are made (39m14s).

The Power of "Yes" and Making Others Look Good

• This principle can be applied to teams and brainstorming sessions by setting a culture that focuses on making others look good and agreeing to build on ideas rather than blocking or partially blocking them (39m35s).
• A common obstacle to this culture is the use of phrases like "yes, but," which can be demoralizing and detrimental to group culture and team culture (39m56s).
• To overcome this, it can be helpful to review emails and responses to people and count how many times phrases like "yes, but" are used, in order to become more aware of their impact (39m51s).
• Keith Johnstone, a master improv person, said that people who prefer to say "yes" are rewarded by the adventures they have, while those who prefer to say "no" are rewarded by the safety they attain, and neither approach is inherently bad (40m40s).
• Approaching interactions with a growth mindset and a willingness to engage, make others look good, and say "yes" can be beneficial in both personal and professional settings (41m5s).