Learning from Mistakes
Innovation is essential; though in any environment it’s tough work. Are there ways to make it easier? The December 2014 Harvard Business Review was devoted to faster, cheaper, smarter approaches to innovating. It’s a fascinating read at www.hbr.org. In our world of 24-hour news cycles, four-year political horizons, and suddenly changing economic climates the very useful notion of “innovation on the fly” is explored over three articles.
I’d particularly recommend the third one, “Leading Your Team into the Unknown”, by Nathan Furr and Jeff Dyer.
We inhabit a world where on the one hand everyone knows that “to err is human”. But on the other hand we are all increasingly relentless and very unforgiving if people, products or systems don’t perform, let alone if they make mistakes.
Into this mix Furr and Dyer suggest competitive advantage doesn’t come from the superiority of any particular innovation. They reckon that competitive advantage comes from environments were people can “learn from mistakes faster, more efficiently, and more consistently than competitors do.” They go on to provide some helpful hint to leaders on how to foster just such an environment.
Author: David Waterford
Categories: Leading & Managing,