Embracing Failure for Success

  • While patient safety demands zero tolerance for failure, many areas of healthcare enterprises benefit from setbacks that drive learning and improvement
  • Innovation thrives on calculated risk, yet a pervasive fear of mistakes stifles creativity and progress
  • The dismissal of a biotech executive after public missteps underscores leadership’s responsibility to provide adequate preparation and support for high stakes roles
  • Cultures that prioritise resilience and psychological safety turn setbacks into opportunities through transparency, accountability, and continuous learning
  • Rigid, punitive environments hinder growth, whereas organisations like SpaceX, 3M, and progressive healthcare enterprises demonstrate that embracing errors cultivates innovation and sustained success

Embracing Failure for Success

In the high-stakes world of healthcare - where innovation, patient care, and public trust intersect - certain failures are simply unacceptable. When patient safety, treatment efficacy, or regulatory compliance are compromised, the consequences can be severe, demanding unwavering vigilance, rigorous standards, and an uncompromising commitment to excellence. Yet not all mistakes bear the same weight. Beyond critical, life-altering errors, most healthcare entities, including biotech firms and MedTech organisations, encounter challenges tied to operational inefficiencies, market perception, and the pursuit of innovation. These setbacks, while disruptive, are often catalysts - forcing adaptation, driving breakthroughs, and ultimately strengthening the industry’s ability to serve those who rely on it.

Consider this imagined scenario: A senior executive at a biotech firm - an accomplished biomedical engineer with a deep understanding of the industry - strategically applies their expertise to enhance the company’s standing among providers and key opinion leaders. Through public advocacy, they emerge as a visible champion of the enterprise’s solutions, reinforcing its value proposition for both clinicians and patients. However, a few well-intentioned but unvetted disclosures in high-profile forums catch the attention of senior leadership. The response is swift and decisive: they are dismissed. This action side-lines a capable leader and raises questions about accountability. Were their missteps a matter of personal oversight, or did they expose systemic failures in leadership, communication, and risk management?

Public representation at this level is no small task, and most organisations - especially in healthcare, where messaging can influence investor confidence, regulatory relationships, and clinical adoption - invest in structured coaching to align communications with corporate priorities. Quarterly earnings calls, and investor briefings reflect this meticulous approach. Yet, in this case, the burden of failure seemed to rest disproportionately on the individual, rather than on the organisation’s responsibility to equip them for success.

This scenario underscores a tension in corporate culture: the balance between accountability and growth. While reputational missteps and innovation risks can be costly, they also serve as inflection points. Albert Einstein once observed, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Winston Churchill echoed this sentiment, noting, “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” These insights remind us that learning flourishes when individuals and organisations have the space to err - so long as those errors do not compromise ethical or safety imperatives.

Benjamin Franklin framed failure as an essential component of discovery, remarking, “I haven’t failed, I’ve had 10,000 ideas that didn’t work.” Joan Littlewood offered a similarly evocative metaphor: “If we don’t get lost, we’ll never find a new route.” These perspectives challenge enterprises - particularly in biotech, MedTech and healthcare - to rethink failure as an engine of progress rather than an anomaly to eliminate. Embracing this mindset requires fostering a culture of calculated risk-taking, adaptability, and continuous learning - while upholding an unwavering commitment to patient safety, regulatory integrity, and public trust.
 
In this Commentary

This Commentary explores the paradox of failure as a driver of success in healthcare, asserting that cultivating a culture of innovation and growth across the industry depends on recognising mistakes as essential stepping stones to progress. Additionally, it questions whether organisations, in their drive for success, unintentionally hinder potential by punishing failure rather than harnessing it as a learning tool. Ultimately, it advocates for a reassessment of how healthcare enterprises support their employees and nurture resilience in the face of challenges.
 
Success Hinges on Failure

Innovation thrives in environments that encourage experimentation and cultivate psychological safety - the confidence to take risks, challenge conventions, and voice dissent without fear of retribution. While precision is paramount in critical areas of healthcare - such as diagnostics, therapies, and patient safety - this need for unwavering accuracy should not extend to non-critical domains. Fields like marketing, innovation, manufacturing processes, and communications provide opportunities where calculated risks and setbacks, when leveraged effectively, serve as catalysts for advancement.

Yet, many healthcare enterprises remain locked in rigid corporate cultures, where risk aversion - even in areas that thrive on experimentation - inhibits bold decision-making and hinders growth. This reluctance is often most pronounced among long-tenured executives who have spent years navigating corporate inertia. For them, setbacks are not just missteps but destabilising forces - ones that challenge ingrained habits, expose vulnerabilities, and threaten the predictability of well-established policies. Instead of viewing unconventional ideas or strategic miscalculations as opportunities for evolution, many healthcare leaders instinctively push back.

This dynamic is exacerbated by insular leadership cultures that elevate authority over adaptability and prize infallibility over curiosity, creating an environment where rhetorical endorsements of innovation serve as a veneer for an underlying resistance to accountability. Consequently, decision-makers retreat into echo chambers, fortifying their choices against scrutiny and insulating themselves from diverse perspectives. In such a setting, the instinct to preserve the status quo stifles constructive dissent, while creativity languishes beneath the burdens of deference and risk aversion.

This paradox is evident across the industry: while many healthcare enterprises aspire to innovate, they often fail to cultivate the cultural conditions necessary for innovation to take root. Consider the case of the biotech executive whose public missteps exposed systemic shortcomings. Their role as a spokesperson required not just personal preparedness but also institutional support - rigorous content review, strategic coaching, and alignment with the organisation’s broader vision. The absence of these safeguards point to a larger failure: a lack of foresight and an inability to promote a culture of accountability and resilience.

Such leadership deficits may be more pervasive than commonly acknowledged. A 2024 Time magazine article, The Plague of Mediocre Leadership, reported that ~82% of corporate executives were deemed ineffective based on five key competencies: (i) setting direction, (ii) harnessing energy, (iii) exerting pressure, (iv) building connectivity, and (v) directing traffic. Even if only partially accurate, this figure suggests a troubling leadership deficit. The research further highlighted that many executives tend to act before fully thinking through consequences and form connections based on personal affinity rather than strategic alignment. Such tendencies encourage ineffective execution, and poor decision-making. Compounding the problem, the Time article cites research from the American Psychological Association indicating that most company executives lack the ability to identify the characteristics that define effective leadership, let alone assess them accurately.

Instead of facilitating resilience and innovation, many executives react to the setbacks of innovators and disrupters with punitive measures, like in the case of our biotech example, which reinforces a culture of complacency and mediocrity at the top. This dynamic reflects a broader, more troubling trend: organisations that prioritise short-term metrics over long-term vision risk alienating the very individuals capable of driving sustainable success. By failing to build a culture where errors are recognised as integral to learning and growth, these companies supress innovation, erode adaptability, and ultimately compromise their ability to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.
 
The Untapped Power of Failure

In many corporate cultures, errors are seen as liabilities - undermining leadership credibility, alarming shareholders, and threatening profitability. To maintain control and avoid scrutiny, organisations often downplay missteps, fostering a climate of blame and risk aversion. Yet, suppressing setbacks not only impedes innovation but also discourages the bold thinking essential for long-term resilience and transformation.

History demonstrates that setbacks, when embraced as a learning tool, can be a catalyst for progress. Post-it Notes originated from an unexpected adhesive experiment at 3M, ultimately becoming one of its most successful products. SpaceX, by contrast, has built its success on a "fail fast, learn faster" philosophy, using each rocket mishap as an opportunity for refinement. Meanwhile, Boeing’s more risk-averse culture has contributed to safety crises, including the 737 MAX crashes and major fuselage defects, revealing significant shortcomings in quality control and oversight.

The consequences of avoiding mistakes are stark across industries. Aviation, with its rigorous, no-blame approach to errors, maintains a low fatality rate despite managing >151,000 flights daily. In contrast, US healthcare’s reluctance to acknowledge mistakes contributes to ~200,000 preventable deaths annually - the equivalent of three fatal airline crashes per day.

Some of healthcare’s greatest breakthroughs have emerged from initial missteps. . Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robotic system encountered scepticism and technical challenges before transforming minimally invasive surgery. Early pacemakers were cumbersome and inconsistent, but persistent innovation transformed them into the compact, lifesaving devices we rely on today. The widely publicised 2010 issues with DePuy’s metal-on-metal hip implants prompted significant advancements in biocompatible materials, greatly improving implant safety and durability. Likewise, insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) evolved through iterative refinement and now integrate AI to optimise diabetes management.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw an unprecedented acceleration of diagnostic test development. Many early tests had issues with sensitivity and specificity, leading to false negatives and positives. Companies and researchers quickly learned from these setbacks, refining testing methodologies to improve accuracy. The rapid adaptation of PCR and antigen testing techniques ultimately provided reliable and scalable solutions to detect and manage the virus effectively, demonstrating the power of learning from shortcomings in real time.

The lesson is clear: in an era of rapid innovation, industries that harness drawbacks as a strategic learning tool - rather than a threat - will lead the future.
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Resilient Leadership in Healthcare Enterprises

Resilient leadership is the bedrock of any healthcare enterprise that not only withstands disruption but harnesses it as a catalyst for growth and transformation. Effective leaders do not retreat in the face of challenges, whether from external pressures or internal disrupters who challenge the status quo. Instead, they support a culture where constructive dissent is valued, setbacks drive learning, and adaptability is embedded at every level of the organisation. By engaging with disruption rather than resisting it, resilient leaders fuel innovation, enhance organisational value, improve patient outcomes, and reinforce stakeholder confidence.

Building this culture requires leaders to cultivate an environment of open challenge and debate. Encouraging diverse perspectives sharpens decision-making, uncovers blind spots, and leads to more effective, forward-thinking solutions. When leaders actively seek out and engage with diverse perspectives, they demonstrate that constructive dissent - when aligned with shared goals - is a catalyst for progress, not a threat. However, there is a distinction between endorsing open dialogue in theory and embedding it into the organisation’s DNA. Too often, leadership rhetoric champions transparency, yet real evaluation remains insulated within executive circles. In such cases, accountability becomes a symbolic exercise rather than a transformative force.

Transparency is a fundamental pillar of resilient leadership. Leaders who acknowledge their own missteps accelerate trust and normalise the idea that failure, when leveraged effectively, is a catalyst for progress. Yet, in a sector often structured around rigid hierarchies, siloes, and risk aversion, relinquishing control, and embracing uncertainty can be difficult. Feedback mechanisms must be more than procedural - they should be authentic and actionable. In high-functioning healthcare enterprises, professionals at all levels feel empowered to challenge decisions, contribute ideas, and drive solutions without fear of reprisal. In contrast, organisations where feedback remains a token gesture risk stagnation. Leaders must not only listen but act - demonstrating that resilience is built through collective learning, not individual infallibility.

Investing in people strengthens organisational resilience. Access to mentorship, continuous training, and professional development equips teams to navigate uncertainty with confidence. However, in a fast-paced, resource-constrained industry, workforce development is often deprioritised in favour of immediate operational demands, hindering long-term transformation. Truly resilient leaders embed learning and adaptability into the enterprise, ensuring that agility becomes a strategic advantage rather than a reactive necessity.

Ultimately, resilient leadership in healthcare is not about having all the answers - it is about supporting an ecosystem where collaboration, innovation, and adaptability thrive. When these principles are integrated, healthcare enterprises do not just endure disruption; they redefine what is possible in the face of it.
 
Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is fundamental to championing innovation, operational excellence, and high-performing teams. It enables creativity, encourages constructive challenges, and cultivates a shared commitment to learning. A landmark 2016 Google study identified psychological safety as the single most important factor in team success, reinforcing its role in organisational resilience.

While healthcare and other high-stakes industries require precision and compliance, many operational and strategic areas - such as marketing, process improvement, and innovation - benefit from experimentation and calculated risk-taking. In these domains, psychological safety enables iterative learning and continuous improvement.

Encouraging collaborative problem-solving strengthens this culture. When setbacks are framed as shared learning experiences rather than individual defeats, teams develop resilience and a growth mindset. Recognising effort alongside outcomes further reinforces this principle, reducing the fear of mistakes and empowering people to explore transformative possibilities.

Adopting iterative processes normalises setbacks as necessary steps toward innovation. Rather than being discouraged by initial errors, teams refine, adapt, and improve with confidence. This shift reduces stigma, enhances agility, and builds a foundation for sustained progress.

By adopting these principles, organisations create an environment where psychological safety fuels creativity, operational excellence, and long-term success - allowing teams to push boundaries without fear while maintaining a commitment to quality and compliance in critical areas.
 
Institutionalising Failure in Healthcare

Redefining failure as a catalyst for progress requires a shift in mindset - one that views setbacks not as deficiencies but as essential learning opportunities. In healthcare, where precision and accountability are paramount, leaders must cultivate an environment where calculated experimentation is encouraged, and missteps are leveraged as pathways to innovation rather than professional liabilities.

To achieve this, healthcare enterprises should implement structured frameworks that support intelligent risk-taking. Robust clinical governance, interdisciplinary collaboration, and data-driven feedback loops can ensure that new ideas are tested in controlled, adaptive ways. Targeted training, mentorship, and iterative review processes further equip professionals to navigate uncertainty while maintaining patient safety and operational integrity.

Equally important is normalising setbacks through open, constructive discourse. Case studies of medical advancements born from unexpected outcomes can illustrate how iteration and resilience drive progress. Embedding these principles into institutional narratives fosters a culture where learning from failure is not only accepted but actively valued.

Moreover, aligning performance metrics to reward constructive experimentation - rather than only celebrating outcomes - reinforces a mindset of continuous improvement. By recognising well-reasoned innovation efforts, healthcare organisations can ensure that ingenuity and adaptability remain central to their mission, ultimately enhancing patient care and long-term sustainability in an evolving industry.
 
Takeaways

The most transformative healthcare enterprises are not those that avoid errors but those that harness them to drive progress. While precision, accountability, and patient safety remain non-negotiable, innovation emerges from environments that balance risk with resilience, curiosity with compliance, and bold thinking with structured oversight.

A culture that views missteps as a catalyst for learning - rather than a mark of incompetence - empowers healthcare professionals to challenge assumptions, refine strategies, and push boundaries in ways that ultimately enhance care delivery, operational efficiency, and medical advancement. This shift demands more than rhetorical support for innovation; it requires tangible leadership commitments to psychological safety, strategic risk-taking, and iterative learning.

Healthcare leaders must champion transparency, not only by acknowledging flaws but by dissecting them openly to extract meaningful insights. They must cultivate an environment where professionals - at all levels - feel empowered to voice concerns, propose new ideas, and navigate setbacks without fear of undue reprisal. When mistakes are institutionalised as stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks, the entire system grows stronger.

History has shown that industries that embrace learning from blunders - whether in aerospace, technology, or healthcare - are the ones that achieve the most significant breakthroughs. As healthcare faces new challenges in an era of rapid technological evolution, shifting regulatory landscapes, and rising patient expectations, its future depends on leaders who have the foresight to see setbacks not as obstacles, but as essential drivers of sustainable success.

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