Ep.56: Guest episode with Dr Samuel West - Author, Academic, Psychologist and Curator of the Museum of Failure

In Episode 56, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Dr Samuel West, a licensed psychologist with a PhD in Organisational Psychology. He has explored the psychology of happiness, in particular happiness related to work. He has taught courses on positive psychology, creativity, and organizational science, and in his PhD, in organizational psychology, he focused on how workplace playfulness boosts innovation.

More recently, he is the founder and creator of the Museum of Failure, which is a collection of failed products and services from around the world, with every item providing a unique insight into the risky business of innovation.

He has become the leading expert in helping teams and organizations understand the role of failure in innovation and progress, improve the acceptance of failure, and appreciate the benefits of psychological safety. He is a global keynote speaker and seeks to educate and inspire with the fascinating stories of the artefacts at the Museum of Failure.

In this episode, they explore:

Why leaders need to listen more to those around them
How organisations can flip their view on failure and embrace it
What we can do as individuals to be more creative in our own work
The critical importance of having psychological safety in your team and how to create it
How fostering a playful environment can kick start innovation
What’s the best way to rebrand the side effect of Diarrhea on your product?

As always, there are some original thought experiments with this episode featuring:

Hit or Miss?

Learn more about Samuel

https://samuelwest.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelwest/
https://museumoffailure.com/

References

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2023/01/is-toadzilla-a-sign-of-enormous-cane-toads-to-come/
https://petkeen.com/do-goldfish-grow-to-the-size-of-their-tank/
https://www.greenmatters.com/news/japan-birth-rate-decline
https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-oud-oudh-346101

About the show

The Occupational Philosophers hope you enjoy the show (they really enjoyed making this episode of their not-so-serious business podcast.) And as The Occupational Philosophers always say: stay curious, make stuff, play more, have fun, and date life.