Fail Small, Succeed Big
Failure & Innovation
Failure Is Linked to Success and Innovation
According to David Kelly, founder of the renowned IDEO design and consulting firm, we should "fail faster to succeed soon." He's not the only one to believe in failure's importance. Thomas A. Edison, prolific inventor of such staples as the light bulb, once said, "I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work." Below we delve into just a handful of relevant examples of how failures have fueled innovation. We hope that you are inspired by these stories of how persistence can pay off.
Bill Gates
Founder of Microsoft
There are few names as recognizable around the globe as Bill Gates. Bill Gates is known as an unbelievably successful entrepreneur and designer who helped usher in the age of personal computers. His company Microsoft has impacted the world in countless ways via products such as Windows, Microsoft Word, and the Xbox One. Bill Gates is now one of the wealthiest people on Earth. However, Bill Gates did not succeed without first experiencing failures. You have probably never heard of Bill Gates' first company "Traf-O-Data", which was considered a complete failure.
Walt Disney
Founder of The Walt Disney Company
Walt Disney is considered one of the greatest creative minds in history. Walt Disney was a visionary pioneer of animation that eventually gave rise to one the world's largest media empires. His unfettered creativity introduced iconic characters such as Mickey Mouse to the world and even theme parks such as Disney World. However, Walt Disney faced his own setbacks before achieving success. Walt Disney was once fired from his job for lacking creativity. Furthermore, his first animation company called "Laugh-O-Gram Films" closed its doors in failure.
Milton Hershey
Founder of The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company is one of the most well-known purveyors of delectable delights the world over. The Hershey name has become synonymous with milk chocolate. Milton Hershey, the founder of The Hershey Company, is responsible for famous milk chocolate products such as Hershey's Kisses and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Bars. However, Milton Hershey faced many failures before achieving his success. In fact, Milton Hershey started not one but three unsuccessful candy related companies before creating The Hershey Company.
With an understanding of the importance of failure as a means of achieving success, let's move onto discussing the wicked problem of making a failure a powerful learning mode in our classrooms by CLICKING HERE.
References
Demers, J. (2014). 6 Stories of Super Successes Who Overcame Failure. From https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240492
Easton, J. [Jonny Easton] (2017, Jan 1). This Moment - Royalty Free - Inspirational Music. [audio file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VObTSz0ufhQ
Goodreads Inc., (2017). Thomas A. Edison Quotes. From https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/3091287.Thomas_A_Edison