Amy Edmonson

It’s 1986, on the eve of the NASA launch of Challenger. Imagine that we are witness to the frantic last-minute meetings going on, of assembled teams of NASA engineers and NASA decision-makers. The issue: whether or not it’s safe to launch the space shuttle in cold weather. 

We all know too well what happened. This great tragedy should not have happened. Professor Amy Edmonson used the drama of these events to trigger learning in all of us: Teams have lots of complex barriers to good outcomes…and we must learn how to overcome them.

Do you remember where you were when the Challenger space shuttle exploded?

That horrible day in 1986, when seven crew members—including a beloved school teacher—perished in front of a stunned nation, is a prime example of a team decision that failed miserably, according to Harvard Business School’s Amy Edmonson.