When running a company, the constant pressure to deliver results can easily give rise to a mindset of 'we cannot afford to fail.' Anxiety over whether a mistake will hurt your performance review, or whether you will cause trouble for those around you, often leads people to hesitate before taking on a challenge. At INA&Associates, however, we deliberately embrace a 'culture of not fearing failure.' We start from the premise that failure is an inherent part of any challenge, and we believe there is much to be learned from it. In this column, we share specific examples and mechanisms that explain how INA&Associates nurtures this culture.
Why Does INA&Associates Encourage Challenge with Failure as a Given?
Because what matters far more than whether failure occurs at all is what we learn from it and how we apply those lessons going forward. At INA&Associates, we view failure not as a simple negative, but as part of the process toward success.
Having experienced countless failures myself as a business leader, one thing I have come to feel deeply is that the lessons drawn from failure form the very foundation of business growth. For example, early in our founding, there was a new service launch that failed to produce the results we had hoped for. Yet the insights into customer needs that we gained through that failure led to later service improvements and ultimately became the bedrock of our business growth.
Japanese companies in general tend toward a culture of avoiding mistakes and failures at all costs, and I feel that such an environment makes it difficult for new challenges and creative ideas to emerge. That is precisely why INA&Associates advocates actively taking on challenges even with the possibility of failure, and cultivates a culture in which employees can pursue challenges with confidence and freedom.
Specifically, what INA&Associates emphasizes internally is the idea that 'failure on the back of challenge is perfectly normal.' Even when results fall short, we evaluate the act of having taken on the challenge itself, offer recognition for that spirit of initiative, and encourage the drive to try again. This organizational culture that respects challenge is cited as one of the benefits of joining INA&Associates.
We encourage people to try bold plans even when success is uncertain, and we believe that if even one major success emerges from ten attempts—even if nine do not yield the desired results—that is enough. The lessons and new discoveries from the other nine become fuel for the next challenge. Of course, we are not reckless about risk; we also make a point of starting small and validating quickly.
When failure does occur, rather than hiding it or assigning blame, we have a culture of sharing it across the entire team and reflecting together. Managers and leaders openly share their own past failures, which allows junior employees and new hires to take on high-risk work with confidence. We approach our daily work with the conviction that if everything is going according to plan and we are always succeeding, that is actually a sign we are not challenging ourselves enough.
What Mechanisms Are Needed to Build an Environment Where People Can Learn from Failure?
Instilling a 'culture of not fearing failure' requires more than the right mindset—it is essential to put concrete mechanisms in place so that employees can genuinely learn from failure. At INA&Associates, we have built an environment where employees can take on challenges and grow with confidence through the following five initiatives.
- Regular retrospectives and dialogue sessions: At each milestone in a project or task, the team holds a retrospective to openly share what did not go well and what unexpected challenges arose. Rather than a forum for blaming what went wrong, it is a space where everyone thinks together about how to apply the lessons going forward.
- Sharing failure cases and converting them into organizational knowledge: Past failure cases and the lessons learned from them are shared on the company's internal portal. Information about mistakes and issues that occurred in other departments is also shared openly, accumulating knowledge so the entire organization does not repeat the same mistakes.
- A workplace culture with high psychological safety: There is an understanding that supervisors and senior staff will watch over the challenges taken on by their reports and will not reprimand them outright if something goes wrong. The trust that reporting a mistake or seeking advice will not unfairly lower one's evaluation raises psychological safety among employees.
- An evaluation system that encourages challenge: In evaluating employees, we place importance not only on outcomes but also on the process—including the effort invested in challenging goals and the creativity shown. Even when results are not achieved, the attitude of having taken on the challenge and the learnings gained are properly recognized.
- Education that learns from failure: Programs that learn from failure cases are actively incorporated into employee training and on-the-job training. This allows even new employees to cultivate a mindset of taking on challenges positively without fearing failure excessively.
Numerous studies have confirmed that a psychologically safe workplace where people can freely voice opinions and discuss failures improves team performance. Leading companies around the world are also focused on creating environments where employees can take on challenges without fearing failure, and INA&Associates operates under the same belief. Human capital management and philosophy-driven organizational development form the foundation of this culture.
Embedding this kind of culture takes time. In the beginning, some employees were hesitant to share their own failures, but by proactively sharing examples of our own mistakes, an atmosphere of 'it's okay to talk about this' gradually took hold. Today, it is completely normal to openly discuss challenges in meetings, and the groundwork for learning from each other's experiences has been established.
For example, when a small issue arose in one project, the person in charge immediately reported it to their supervisor, and the team was able to address it quickly. Because there was no fear of being blamed for the mistake, the problem was not hidden and an early solution could be put in place. Being able to catch the seeds of a problem early and turn them into lessons for next time is one of the great advantages that a culture of high psychological safety brings.
How Does a 'Culture of Not Fearing Failure' Contribute to Company Growth?
A 'culture of not fearing failure' is directly linked not only to the growth of individual employees, but to innovation and development across the entire organization. Under the belief that the growth of people is what creates value for a company, we want to transform the failures that are an unavoidable part of growth into a powerful organizational force by viewing them positively.
We share across the entire organization a mindset of viewing failure not as a personal limitation, but as a step toward growth. We are not advocating reckless challenge; rather, we value the attitude of preparing thoroughly, then challenging, and learning flexibly from the unexpected that can still occur. We never let up on efforts to avoid repeating the same mistakes, while at the same time recognizing the courage to boldly step into uncharted territory.
And we consider that fearing failure so much that you do nothing at all is the greatest failure of all. Creating an environment where every employee can take on bold challenges with confidence, and channeling the learnings from those challenges into the next attempt—continuing to turn that cycle is INA&Associates' strength and will be the driving force of our growth going forward. Under the belief that failure itself is fuel for success, we will continue to support the challenges of our employees.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. Does a 'culture of not fearing failure' mean advocating reckless challenge?
No. At INA&Associates, we value the attitude of preparing thoroughly before taking on a challenge, then learning flexibly from unexpected results. We take an approach of starting small, validating quickly, and challenging within a range where the damage does not become too great.
Q. Does failing mean your evaluation won't go down?
At INA&Associates, the evaluation criteria cover not only the success or failure of outcomes, but also the process—including the effort invested in challenging goals and the creativity shown. We have a system in place to properly recognize the attitude of having taken on a challenge and the learnings gained, and failure itself will not cause your evaluation to be unfairly lowered.
Q. What specifically does psychological safety look like?
Psychological safety refers to a state in which team members feel that reporting mistakes, asking questions, or raising objections will not result in punishment or a lower evaluation. At INA&Associates, we practice creating an atmosphere where frank discussion is possible—for example, by having supervisors share their own past failures.
Q. How specifically are failure cases shared?
Past failure cases and lessons learned are recorded and shared on the company's internal portal. In addition, the team holds retrospectives at each project milestone to frankly discuss unexpected challenges and areas for improvement, accumulating them as organizational knowledge.
Further Reading
