8 Skills for Failures and Mistakes
Limit the impact of a mistake, work out what happened, take responsibility, and test ways to prevent a repeat.
Turn a setback into useful learning
Each skill gives your AI assistant instructions for a specific task.
For founders, managers, and HR leads in teams of about 20–200 people. Use one skill for a specific problem, or work through the pack step by step.
Explain the situation and what you want to achieve. The assistant will ask questions and help you prepare. Before using its suggestions, check the facts and make sure they fit the situation. Ask the people involved for any information you are missing.
We sent a client the wrong version of a file. Help me plan the immediate response and review what happened without jumping to blame.
Choose a skill for your situation.
Open a skill below to see what it helps you do. After installing the skill or pasting its prompt into your assistant, use the suggested starting phrase.
Plan the Immediate Response
Identify the immediate impact, compare ways to limit further harm, and draft an update with clear responsibilities.
Run failure-contain-the-incident.
Download instructionsAcknowledge the Mistake and Plan Repairs
Draft an honest acknowledgment and apology, identify repairs you can offer, and set out who will follow through.
Run failure-own-and-repair.
Download instructionsBuild a Factual Timeline
Reconstruct what happened and what people knew at the time, marking conflicting accounts and facts still needing verification.
Run failure-reconstruct-the-event.
Download instructionsExplore What Contributed to the Mistake
Examine tasks, tools, handoffs, workload, and decisions to identify possible causes and the evidence needed to test them.
Run failure-map-contributing-conditions.
Download instructionsRespond When Someone Reports a Mistake
Prepare a first response that acknowledges the report, checks immediate harm, and explains the next steps and follow-up.
Run failure-respond-to-a-reported-error.
Download instructionsRegain Perspective After a Mistake
Separate the facts from harsh self-judgments, identify your responsibility, and choose one practical next step.
Run failure-recover-for-learning.
Download instructionsPlan a Test to Prevent a Repeat
Plan a small prevention trial with measures, a review date, and a way to reverse it if needed.
Run failure-test-a-prevention-change.
Download instructionsClose the Incident and Share the Lesson
Check completed repairs and remaining risks, then write a short lesson explaining where it applies and when to revisit it.
Run failure-close-and-transfer-learning.
Download instructionsOne download. Several ways to use it.
Unzip the download, then follow the instructions for your assistant.
Open one prompt file in portable/, copy its contents into a chat, and describe your situation.
To keep the whole pack in a project, upload portable/ALL-SKILLS.md as a project source, then paste the contents of PROJECT-INSTRUCTIONS.md into the project's instructions. If the assistant does not follow an uploaded prompt, paste that prompt directly into the chat.
In Claude, upload the individual skill ZIPs from install/ using the custom Skills feature. For another assistant that supports Agent Skills, copy the skill folders you need from skills/ into the directory that assistant uses for skills.
See README.md for installation options and a list of the included files.
Free for internal and client work under the Polar Bear license. Not for resale. Available features and results depend on the assistant you use.
Understand the research behind the pack.
The research notes explain which studies informed the skills, what those studies found, and where the findings may not apply. We have not tested whether these AI skills improve workplace outcomes.
Replace real names with placeholders and share only the information the assistant needs. You are responsible for checking facts, making decisions, and speaking with others. If the assistant predicts how someone might react, treat that as one possibility. Ask the person directly when you need to understand their view.
Download the research notes