Failing is often the best way to learn

Great example from Switch

“A famous story about IBM makes that point well. In the 1960s, an executive at IBM made a decision that ended up losing the company $10 million dollars. The CEO of IBM, tom Watson, summoned the offending executive to his office at corporate headquarters. The journalist Paul B. Carroll described what happened next:

As the executive cowered, Watson asked ‘Do you know why I’ve asked you here?'

The man replied ‘I assume so you can fire me.’

Watson looked surprised.

‘Fire you?’ he asked ‘Of course not. I just spent $10 million educating you.’"

Source: p. 173 Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard | Chip and Dan Heath, 2010

Bruce Klopsteins

UX maven, content strategist, communicator, information obssessive, exploratory completionist, and fan of witty banter. When not quoting other people's brilliance, thoughts are my own.