"The Fearless Organization" by Amy Edmondson

Category: Book (Organizational Learning)

Why IEQ Picks It: AI adoption requires experimentation—which means failure is inevitable. Edmondson's latest work distinguishes between failures that teach and failures that destroy, providing leaders with frameworks to create intelligent failure cultures. As organizations close out 2025 and assess their AI initiatives, this book reframes "what went wrong" into "what did we learn"—the mindset shift that separates the 30% who succeed from the 70% who don't.

Why this matters:

• Published 2023 but gaining traction in 2025 as organizations grapple with AI pilot failures

• Framework for categorizing failures: preventable, complex, and intelligent

• Builds on Edmondson's psychological safety work with practical failure management

• Year-end timing: reframe 2025 "failures" as 2026 learning foundations

• Essential for leaders creating cultures where teams feel safe experimenting with AI

• Harvard Business School credibility meets real-world transformation challenges