FROM BLUNDERS TO BREAKTHROUGHS
The path to breakthrough innovation is paved with missteps, argues LINUS OKORIE
In many organizations, mistakes and failures are treated as something to be avoided at all costs. Employees fear the repercussions of getting things wrong, and leaders unintentionally reinforce this fear through punitive measures or subtle cues that failures signal incompetence. This fear-based environment stifles creativity, discourages experimentation, and ultimately hinders innovation. Yet history shows us that some of the world’s greatest breakthroughs owe their existence to unexpected mistakes.
For instance, Alexander Fleming’s accidental discovery of penicillin revolutionized medicine, while the invention of the microwave was from Percy Spencer’s serendipitous observation of a melted chocolate bar during radar research. These examples illustrate that mistake, when approached with curiosity and openness, can become catalysts for innovations. So, the problem is not the mistake itself but how we respond to it.
When leaders adopt a zero-tolerance approach to failure, they unknowingly suppress the very qualities that drive progress. Employees become risk-averse, choosing the safest route over exploring bold, untested ideas. The culture of perfectionism limits organizational growth and leaves untapped potential on the table. Conversely, research from the Harvard Business Review shows that companies where team members feel safe to take risks and make mistakes are more innovative and perform better. The absence of this psychological safety net creates workplaces where employees hesitate to share ideas or challenge the status quo.
We need to cultivate a mistake-tolerant leadership culture, and this begins with a radical shift in mindset; one that views mistakes not as dooms, but as learning curves. Mistakes are inevitable, but their impact depends entirely on how they are perceived. Forward-thinking leaders embrace failure as part of the creative process. Instead of asking, “Who’s to blame?”, they ask, “What can we learn?” This mindset can be practically implemented in everyday workplace situations through reflective meetings where failed projects are dissected with a focus on lessons rather than faults. Leaders can encourage employees or the team involved to share one thing they learned from a setback during regular check-ins or performance reviews.
Additionally, organizations can integrate learning moments into workflow processes; such as requiring teams to submit a brief reflection on what worked, what didn’t, and how they would approach things differently next time. This shift encourages curiosity and continuous improvement. A prime example of this mindset is Thomas Edison, whose relentless experimentation led to the invention of the lightbulb. When questioned about his numerous failed attempts, Edison famously responded, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
History is filled with products that resulted from mistakes. Corn Flakes, one of the most popular breakfast cereals worldwide, was invented when Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother left cooked wheat unattended for too long. The mixture turned stale but, rather than discarding it, they processed it further, creating the flakes that would later become a household staple. Coca-Cola‘s journey started as a medicinal tonic invented by Dr. John Stith Pemberton, who was trying to create a remedy for headaches. The accidental addition of carbonated water transformed it into the world’s most famous soft drink. Super Glue was another accidental discovery, created by Dr. Harry Coover during World War II while attempting to develop clear plastic gun sights. Though initially dismissed as a failed experiment, the substance later became a widely-used adhesive.
Fostering psychological safety is not without its challenges. Leaders may struggle with balancing accountability and openness, especially in high-pressure environments where results are paramount. They might fear that encouraging mistakes will lead to complacency or lower performance standards. To overcome these challenges, leaders need to set clear boundaries between acceptable risks and negligence, communicate the value of learning from mistakes, and consistently reinforce that the goal is improvement, not perfection. Regular feedback loops, transparent communication, and visible support from leadership are crucial in maintaining this delicate balance. Leaders play a critical role in enabling this environment by modeling vulnerability and admitting their own mistakes, encouraging open dialogue about setbacks, rewarding curiosity and calculated risk-taking, and creating a “no-blame” review process. Google’s Project Aristotle found that psychological safety was the most important factor in determining high-performing teams, reinforcing its vital role in innovation.
Leadership sets the tone for how mistakes are perceived. When leaders openly discuss their own missteps and what they learned from them, they give others permission to do the same. This transparency breaks down the stigma around failure and encourages a culture of shared learning. One powerful way to normalize failure is through regular sessions where teams discuss recent mistakes, what went wrong, and how they can improve moving forward. Documenting these details from these sessions serves two purposes: it captures valuable insights and prevents the same errors from recurring. Organizations like Pixar and Amazon have institutionalized this practice through structured reviews that dissect what went wrong and how to do better next time. Using this document often called a mistake playbook, companies have transformed their blunders into breakthroughs.
A Mistake Playbook chronicle mistakes, lessons learned, and recommended best practices. To build one, companies can create a simple template for recording mistakes and insights, assign ownership to a cross-functional team, regularly review and update the playbook, make the document accessible to all employees, and celebrate contributions to the playbook as a sign of continuous improvement. Structured approaches like examining the original goal, actual outcomes, successes, areas for improvement, and key takeaways keep the focus on learning rather than assigning blame.
When leaders foster a culture that embraces mistakes, the benefits ripple across the entire organization. Increased innovation and creativity, higher employee engagement and trust, faster problem-solving cycles, a more resilient and adaptive workforce, and greater long-term business success all become achievable. In the words of management guru Peter Drucker, “The better a man is, the more mistakes he will make, for the newer things he will try.”
Mistakes are not the enemy of progress; it is the fear of making them that holds us back. This fear can be paralyzing, deterring individuals from stepping out of their comfort zones and exploring new ideas. However, when leaders actively dismantle this fear by normalizing failure, they unlock the hidden potential within their teams. The path to breakthrough innovation is paved with missteps. The question is not whether mistakes will happen, but whether leaders will choose to bury them—or build upon them.
Okorie MFR is a leadership development expert spanning 30 years in the research, teaching and coaching of leadership in Africa and across the world. He is the CEO of the GOTNI Leadership Centre.
