The Next Next Common Sense
Technology company Google illustrates this approach through its famous post-mortem practice. Rather than punishing failures, Google creates structured processes for learning from them, explicitly separat- ing evaluation of decision quality from evaluation of outcomes. This separation creates what Google calls “smart risk-taking”—encouraging thoughtful experimentation while maintaining accountability for deci- sion process. Safety for productive risk manifests in several organizational practices: Failure celebration. Organizations create positive recognition for well-conceived efforts regardless of outcome. When pharmaceutical company Merck implemented its “Brilliant Failures” awards, it publicly celebrated research initiatives that followed sound scientific methods but produced unexpected negative results, highlighting their contribution to knowledge advancement. Risk-response decoupling. Organizations separate assessment of initial risk decisions from evaluation of subsequent responses. When management consulting firm BCG evaluates project teams, it explicitly distinguishes between “First-Order Decisions” (initial approaches) and “Recovery Effectiveness” (responses to unexpected challenges), recogniz- ing that even sound initial decisions may require adaptation. Safety system transparency. Organizations make psychological safety mechanisms explicit rather than implicit. When software com- pany Basecamp implemented its “Automatic Check-In” practice, it created structured questions that normalized discussing challenges and uncer- tainties, making psychological safety a visible system rather than an am- biguous aspiration. These approaches create what organizational psychologist Amy Edmondson called “psychological safety”—belief that one won’t be pun- ished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.
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