One of the most common innovation mistakes companies make is urging risk-taking while punishing commercial failure. The academic literature suggests that almost every successful product had a failure somewhere in its lineage. But inside most companies, working on something that “fails” commercially carries significant stigma, if not outright career risk. It’s no surprise that people play it safe. That’s not to say that companies should encourage failure. When people do something stupid, make sloppy mistakes, or screw up something that has dramatic repercussions on the business, they should absolutely be held accountable. The trick is to recognize that in the early stages of innovation, what at first appears to be failure is anything but. Innovation success involves disciplined experimentation, and learning from failure is a big part of that.
Adapted from
“The 6 Most Common Innovation Mistakes Companies Make,” by Scott Anthony, David Duncan, and Pontus M.A. Siren.
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