Let’s Talk About Failure

This story about the benefits of discussing failure is part of The Solutions Effect, a monthly newsletter covering the best of solutions journalism in the sustainability and social impact space. If you aren't already getting this newsletter, you can sign up here.

The word “failure” often provokes uncomfortable feelings. It’s a tempting topic to avoid as information overload and news avoidance linger around all-time highs worldwide. But talking about failure, and what can be learned from it, might be just what audiences are looking for right now. 

Take business, for example. A global crackdown on greenwashing and fear of the public’s reaction to potential failures has some companies keeping quiet about their sustainability efforts when, in reality, most consumers won’t hold it against them. 

In new research from TriplePundit, our parent company 3BL and the research technology firm Glow, we asked consumers in the United States how they’d feel if a company launched a social or environmental program, scrapped it because it wasn’t effective, and then publicly talked about the failure and what they learned. 

Nearly half of respondents (44 percent) said they'd think better of the company for being transparent, and 19 percent said they wouldn't feel strongly either way because they know every effort can’t be successful. Just 14 percent said they’d think less of the company. 

The key phrase there is “what they learned.” Analyzing a failure and using it as an opportunity to discuss how a problem can be addressed more effectively provides hope in a media landscape that doesn’t deliver enough of it, while still having tough conversations. 

The three most important needs cited by 95,000 news readers in 47 countries are staying up to date, learning more and gaining varied perspectives, according to this year’s Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute. Most of them think the media is already doing a good job of keeping them updated on what’s going on. But the media is not meeting readers’ desire for news featuring different perspectives with more context and news offering more hope and optimism. 

They’re also looking for more information on often complex topics like education, environmental issues, mental health and social justice.

“It is clear news consumers would prefer to dial down the constant updating of news, while dialing up context and wider perspectives that help people better understand the world around them,” writes Nic Newman, the report’s author. “Most people don’t want the news to be made more entertaining, but they do want more stories that provide more personal utility, help them connect with others, and give people a sense of hope.” 

Stories about failure that focus on the lessons learned can meet these needs. They feature a unique perspective on problems in the often difficult-to-discuss topics people want to hear more about, all while offering hope for future progress toward a solution. 

The Solutions Journalism Network uses the terms “reporting instructively on a failure” or “learning from failure” to describe stories that meet its solutions journalism criteria while reporting on a failed response. 

In a story for TriplePundit, for example, Andrew Kaminsky details one of the reasons governments are failing to enact adequate environmental and social policies: the threat of a lawsuit from foreign companies in a process called an investor-state dispute settlement. The story details how a mechanism designed to resolve legal disputes and mobilize private investment is now undermining human rights and environmental laws. Then, it looks at how some countries are choosing to back out of these settlements as a way to solve the problem and experts’ opinions on how to do things differently. 

This piece by Joseph Winters, a staff writer for Grist, explains the struggles food and drink businesses face when trying to adopt reusable packaging. Implementing a reuse system at a single location is expensive and a burden for customers who have to return to drop off the cups and containers they use. As a result, many attempts meet a quick end. Instead of stopping there, Winters delves into what a better, standardized system could look like, the nonprofit trying to make it happen and whether it’s actually possible. 

The Solutions Journalism Network recommends a story like this compares the failure to a similar project that is more successful, takes a granular look at where it failed to meet expectations but succeeded in another way, or discusses why people might be drawn to an idea that just isn’t working. 

We’ve all heard the famous saying, “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” By learning from efforts that aren’t successful, rather than sweeping them under the rug, we can improve from our collective failures and avoid wasting precious time and resources making the same mistakes. And that’s a compelling value-add for news readers and writers alike.