Picture this: You're in your company standup meeting, and instead of the usual status updates and wins, your colleague says, "Let me tell you about how I messed up during that client meeting last week."
Sounds uncomfortable? At BAM, it's just Thursday.
The Courage to Say "I Screwed Up"Every month during our BAM meetings, we do something that might make other teams squirm: we ask team members to share their "f*ck-ups and failures." Not as a form of public shaming or corporate charades, but as a valuable learning tool.
Why? Mistakes happen. They're inevitable, universal, and (when handled right) learning opportunities. The question isn't if you'll make mistakes at work (because you will). The question is whether your organization will create space to learn from them.
More Than Just "Lessons Learned"
We're talking about real, honest conversations about the times we missed the mark, made the wrong call, or straight-up failed.
When we normalize these discussions:
Fear becomes curiosity. Instead of covering up mistakes or assigning blame, we figure out what went wrong and how to do better next time.
Isolation becomes connection. Nothing builds psychological safety like realizing everyone — yes, everyone — has been there before.
Embarrassment becomes strength. There's power in owning your mistakes publicly. It builds resilience, authenticity, and trust.
Living Our Values Through Failure
“F*ck-ups and failures” is a direct reflection of BAM’s company values.
Total Accountability means owning successes and mess ups. It’s unacceptable (and frankly, sh*tty) to point fingers or make excuses. We take responsibility and focus on solutions.
Be Resilient shows up when we approach failures with humility and a learner's mindset. Mistakes become data for improvement.
Impeccable Communication means being transparent about what went wrong, even when it's uncomfortable. Especially when it's uncomfortable.
Serve to Succeed reminds us that sharing our failures serves the entire team. Your mistake might prevent someone else from making the same one!
The Why
When you create space for people to be honest about their mistakes, you create a culture of continuous learning and improvement. People move faster because they're not paralyzed by the fear of failing. You foster innovation because people are willing to take calculated risks. Trust deepens because authenticity is your team's normal.
Creating this kind of culture doesn't happen overnight, of course, and it's not about implementing a single practice. It requires consistency from leadership, genuine psychological safety, and a shift in how we think about failure.
This means celebrating the person who spots their own mistake as much as the person who prevents one. It means asking "What can we learn?" before "Who's responsible?" It means that in an ever-evolving workplace, the biggest mistake your team can make is simply villainizing mistakes.
TL;DR
No, BAM’s not advocating for carelessness or lowering standards. We're advocating for honesty, learning, and the kind of resilience that comes from facing your failures instead of hiding from them.
Because here's the thing: everyone f*cks up at work. And the companies that thrive are the ones that are brave enough to talk about it.
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