Fear of failure shouldn't stop creativity.

AuthorMotley, L. Biff
PositionCUSTOMER SATISFACTION

IN HIS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BEST SELLER, "BRILLIANT BLUNDERS," Mario Livio illustrates how science's great leaps forward were punctuated by the mistakes of prominent minds that sparked the creativity of other, lesser-known scientists who then completed the journey.

For example, Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity introduced the notion of a cosmological constant to explain what he assumed was a static universe, which was the prevailing scientific view at the time. We now know the universe is expanding and Einstein's fudge factor was mistaken. And while his brilliant insights moved us in totally new directions, others had to pick up where he left off to move us forward.

Then there was Charles Darwin's classic theory of evolution by natural selection. As revolutionary as Darwin's work was, his theory made the assumption that offspring would smoothly inherit the traits of their parents. Later work by scientist Gregor Mendel in his study of pea plants demonstrated that for true mutations of species to occur biology needs reproducible, discrete changes in genes that can be copied across continuing generations of offspring.

A similar study of the advancements made in the business universe would reveal the same. Progress is made through a refinement of trial-and-error episodes designed to better satisfy customers while making improvements in the economics of the enterprise.

The impact of technology

With the continued advancement of today's information technology, it's hard to think of a business that is more impacted by technology than ours. Our product is essentially composed of two dimensions: reliable service to facilitate a larger purpose (e.g., investing for retirement); and trustworthy information delivered in a convenient, timely and useful format (e.g., current checking balance while standing in a checkout lane).

In an increasingly digital world, most of these benefits can be delivered in a just-in-time, as-you-prefer format: via computer, hand-held device, telephone or...

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