A few months ago, we noted that we had been hearing buzz and feedback in the news about the FailFaire concept, and had caught wind of the format taking hold among new industries (in addition to our own focus, which is technology and international development).
While our original FailFaire events were inter-organizational and we invited a range of practitioners and organizations in the field, the concept is also well suited as an intra-organizational exercise. Hosting a private internal FailFaire can be helpful for honestly reviewing past performance, better sharing lessons learned, building capacity, and brainstorming solutions to prevent the same mistakes from being made again within your individual organization’s internal framework.
In this vein, we’ve heard that the World Bank, UNICEF and Ashoka, an organization focused on supporting and promoting social-entrepreneurship worldwide, have all hosted their own variations of internal FailFaires.
At Ashoka’s event in November, nearly 50 people attended in person, and many international staff from around the world called in. Our friends who helped put on the event reported that it was a huge hit, and people are already requesting another one next year. Ashoka’s Human Resources team is encouraging staffers and country offices to host their own variations of the internal event within their own teams.
While the specific takeaways and failed projects which were presented are, naturally, only available internally – you can read a roundup blogpost about their event here.
And, if you are inspired to host your own, check out our how-to guide to creating a killer FailFaire as a primer.
