Failure and learning culture in practice. Real case studies.

An industrial company operating internationally sensed a growing scepticism towards innovation among its workforce. New projects were being delayed because teams feared missteps. Management, however, could not pinpoint the cultural blockages.

Using our tailored, scientifically grounded failure culture survey, we made the implicit knowledge and the unspoken barriers among employees measurable — both quantitatively and qualitatively.

The client gained data-based clarity about the cultural brakes at work. Management now knows exactly which levers to pull in order to restore psychological safety and the capacity to innovate.

A strongly hierarchical organisation in the financial sector was marked by a pronounced culture of blame. Failures were covered up for fear of reprisals, which led to high and largely hidden follow-on costs.

We introduced the Corporate Fuckup Night as a strategic cultural icebreaker. The decisive lever: the most senior leadership team went first and shared their own serious professional setbacks openly on stage.

A radical and liberating impulse for the entire workforce. Leaders setting the example took the paralysing weight out of the subject of failure, broke open long-standing departmental silos and laid the foundation for genuine exchange as equals.

A leading company in the automotive sector had recognised the need to act and had already carried out initial analyses. The real challenge: translating a theoretical wish for a “better failure culture” into the concrete, daily workflows of its leaders.

In an intensive strategic roadmap workshop, we dissected the specific situation, identified critical everyday fields of action and developed the measures to address them.

Together we implemented a pragmatic roadmap with a clear schedule. Every measure was assigned clear responsibilities and metrics, so that the cultural change does not evaporate as a statement of intent but remains operationally anchored.

The organiser of a well-regarded industry conference was looking for a keynote format for the opening or closing slot — one that would differ radically from the usual self-congratulatory success stories and offer real value.

We designed and hosted a bespoke stage programme on failure culture: a mixture of compelling keynote, industry experts appearing as Failure Enthusiasts, and interactive elements that draw the audience in and bring the sector’s standing taboos into the open.

An outright audience magnet. The format was the most discussed topic of the entire conference. Participants left not only inspired, but with concrete and practical impulses to take back into their organisations.