What can we learn from the failures, foibles, and follies of other organizations? How can we use a study of mistakes to work toward success?
Fear of failure is one of the barriers to having a more creative and innovative workplace environment. Nobody likes failure—it feels bad, often it’s embarrassing, in its worst form, it can be destructive. People, as well as organizations often have a hard time admitting it when they have failed or made a mistake. So how do we take failures and turn them into successes? Rather than trying to forget them, why don’t we analyze them, debrief, and try to learn to do better next time?
Even the most successful companies including Apple, the Gap, and Coca-Cola, have made larger than life gaffes and managed to thrive and survive. Try this exercise using some examples from competitors or well-known companies. Then try it with your organization’s own mistakes and missteps.
For a look at some very public failures and mistakes, here’s some inspiration:
• The Gap’s new logo comes and goes in a week
• Apple’s IPhone 4 “Antenna gate”
• Nestle insults its customers on Facebook
• Who is Microsoft Bob?
• These potato chips come with unpleasant side effects
Come together in small groups, discuss what happened, and then consider:
Fear of failure is one of the barriers to having a more creative and innovative workplace environment. Nobody likes failure—it feels bad, often it’s embarrassing, in its worst form, it can be destructive. People, as well as organizations often have a hard time admitting it when they have failed or made a mistake. So how do we take failures and turn them into successes? Rather than trying to forget them, why don’t we analyze them, debrief, and try to learn to do better next time?
Even the most successful companies including Apple, the Gap, and Coca-Cola, have made larger than life gaffes and managed to thrive and survive. Try this exercise using some examples from competitors or well-known companies. Then try it with your organization’s own mistakes and missteps.
For a look at some very public failures and mistakes, here’s some inspiration:
• The Gap’s new logo comes and goes in a week
• Apple’s IPhone 4 “Antenna gate”
• Nestle insults its customers on Facebook
• Who is Microsoft Bob?
• These potato chips come with unpleasant side effects
Come together in small groups, discuss what happened, and then consider:
• What went wrong?
• What could have been done better? Why?
• What worked? What didn’t?
• How could this be avoided in the future?
• How could this be fixed? What channels could be used?
• Is there a moral to the story? What is it?
Need more inspiration? Try these websites:
Forbes.com Marketing Blog
PR Mistakes and Blunders
Time Magazine's Top 50 Worst Inventions
Coming Wednesday: Creative Books and Authors
• What could have been done better? Why?
• What worked? What didn’t?
• How could this be avoided in the future?
• How could this be fixed? What channels could be used?
• Is there a moral to the story? What is it?
Need more inspiration? Try these websites:
Forbes.com Marketing Blog
PR Mistakes and Blunders
Time Magazine's Top 50 Worst Inventions
Coming Wednesday: Creative Books and Authors
Want more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? For more information on how to get your copy of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, visit the E-book website. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Creativity@Work page. I can also train you and your organization to be more creative and innovative at work. Email me for more information.
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