Tuesday, March 16, 2010

FAILURE & INNOVATION


Would you like to increase your chances to succeed? Just DOUBLE the number of failures in your firm!! How can this be? What does this mean?


It’s because most success is not planned or controlled. The great marketers learn to be great observers of behavior. If you want to have that “AHA” moment and trip over a great idea….you must try a lot of things.


This is difficult for most organizations. It depends on your culture of risk taking. Innovation requires taking some risks. In your firm, are people punished for making mistakes? Or trying something that does not work out? What is the reaction…..is it a learning opportunity or is the expectation that things work perfectly? If the latter, you will have a hard time encouraging your people to be creative & innovate. They will be afraid of punishment……i.e. they will avoid risks.


So, create an idea…..commercialize the concept…..find a way to try it with a limited audience i.e. with small costs…..then observe what works. Or what doesn’t work. Learn, revise it, try it again……then “AHA.” You just might surprise yourself and INNOVATE.