When failure is demonized, people will try to avoid it at all costs—even when it represents nothing
more than a temporary setback.
We once consulted with a huge multinational retail chain that was planning to open its first store in
China. The company’s top executives were deeply committed to opening on time. About two months
beforehand, they gathered the leaders of the seven teams involved in the opening, and asked each one
for a detailed status report. All the reports were positive. All the team leaders were then asked to
pick one of three signals—a green light, yellow light, or red light—to indicate their confidence in an
on-time opening. All seven of them picked the green light. Great news!