failure talk (abridged)

Failing to innovate

Darryl Gray, DNAdarryl.gray@dna.co.nz

darrylgray.wordpress.com021 754 837

By way of intro:- We all design or create stuff- sometimes we need to be ‘innovative’ and do something new- if you don’t need to be innovative, this talk might not be for you.- if you do need to be innovative or unique- this talk is might be very useful- I think the concept of failure can help enormously

The Theory

- uh-oh- failure is normally associated with lack of success, things not working properly, etc.- generally has negative connotations!- but is there ‘good failure’?- I think so:- two categories

Unintentional failure

1(aka ‘Happy accidents’)

- surprised if this hasn’t happened to you!

- For me, it’s usually in Photoshop, etc.- Accidentally press the wrong key combo

- “Wait a minute!”- Surprised at how many discoveries have been made accidentally- (The word ‘discovery’ implies surprise)

LSDTeflonViagrax-raysbrandy

penicillinCellophane

brandypenicillin

CellophaneScotchgardNutraSweetpotato chips

microwave ovenvulcanised rubber

Columbus’s discovery of America

Etc.

- Historical importance of these accidental discoveries is HUGE- Tend to think scientists plan everything- But the biggest leaps are always usually unexpected and unplanned

All things

Known things

- easy to see why:- it’s extremely difficult to conceive of what you don’t know- how can you know what you don’t know?

- I always use the example of the horse:- Ask someone in 1850 what transport they wanted:- “Faster horse that can go longer”

- No-one said a car

- DEFINITELY no-one thought of this!- Anyway, we rely on accidental discoveries to leap forward.- This notion is well-described by ‘serendipity’

- Not, not that Serendipity

serendipity

— the chance development of events in a beneficial way

“It is true that my discovery of LSD was a chance discovery, but it was the outcome of planned experiments

[...] It could better be described as serendipity.”

— Albert Hoffman, Swiss chemist

“Chance favours the prepared mind.”

— Louis Pasteur, French chemist

Opportunities present themselves...

...but you have to see them.

How many have you missed?

Intentional failure

2Failure as an innovation strategy

- This is about deliberately carrying out failure as a tool.

All things

Known things

- Remember our diagram- We know that innovation happens out here- There are a few great solutions- But lots of lemons- To innovate, you need to be prepared to fail

- It’s like a game of chance- Lotto: the more you play, the more likely success becomes- Lotto is like a really ground-breaking innovation:- Be prepared to fail a lot- Winning $2 on Instant Kiwi is a much smaller innovation, much more achievable- You need to factor this into your timelines and way of working

“Try everything – see what works.”

Active Failure StrategyDon’t bank on one approach

Expect to fail many times

Learn from your mistakesLimit failure fallout/fail small

- limit failure fallout: make sure you never fail too large

“Fail early, fail often”

— IDEO mantra

failure

time

bad :(

good :)

- green line: IDEO model- red line: ‘systematic failure’

Prof. Jack Matson— Pennsylvania State University

- Innovative Engineering Design course

Failure 101.

- requires students “to build and attempt to sell outlandish and frequently useless products” - like a hand-held barbecue pit.

- Prof Matson takes IDEO further:- Fail faster- Maze analogy: - blindfolded person in maze will make frequent mistakes- will eventually get there - faster mistakes, faster to get there

- Makers found players were a bit bummed out about dying- By giving players info about how they died and how to improve- Death became a valuable and positive experience for players!

Failure is a positive experience if we can learn from it.

- How can we leverage failure in our line of work?

Failure = :-)

- Finally, intentional failure has great effect on culture- Proven to be less stressful, happier, more fun

- Failure can give us a laugh

Failure = :-)and more productive too

- BUT it’s also proven to be more productive way to work- There’s a company doing quite well who adopt failure strategy- Each employee has time to try stuff out, no pressure.

- You probably haven’t heard of them.

- If it’s good enough for Google ...

So...- To sum up the theory:

The failure paradoxFailure is likely when you’re trying to succeed

Success is likely when you’re trying to fail

Bad failure is an outcome.

- it’s the end result- not good

Good failure is a process.

- tries lots of small things- the strong ideas survive- and become stronger

Innovative

Old news

- and because innovation only happens out here...

Innovation is impossible without embracing failure.

The Practice

- So, very quickly!- What are some pragmatic things to help you fail like champ?

Eliminate fear

1- Creatives say: “Don’t pressure me, man” and “I need my freedom”- Those creatives are often the ones that deliver gold- They intuitively understand...

Being free = lack of fear

Lack of fear = it’s okay to try and fail

Trying and failing = more likely to strike gold

- So when that monkey in a suit is holding a gun to your head...

- Explain that to him.

Know about design management

2- But you’ll probably need to compromise with that monkey- Design management is simple but not understood

- Give people 100% freedom when creating- No talk of deadlines, budgets, etc.- No idea is a bad idea- Critical part of brainstorming- But, once a direction or solution is agreed upon...

- It’s relentless pressure.- This pressure causes the brain to tune out other ideas and focus on delivering.- This is the compromise, and it is a good one in general.- I’ve had great success with this in the past... it's never let me down

Don’t be cool

3

“Don’t be cool”“Forget about good”

— Bruce Mau

“Trying to look good limits my life”— Stefan Sagmeister

“The good is the enemy of the great”— Milton Glaser

- When needing to be innovative or unique, good constrains you to the known and therefore you bad fail.- Note inversion of Milton Glaser quote

- If you don’t try, you won’t fail ... or succeed.

Start anywhere, don’t stop

4

- So start now! Start anywhere - go, go, go!- A common form of paralysis is not knowing where to start.

“Begin anywhere”“Keep moving”

“Repeat yourself”“Stand on someone’s shoulders”

“Imitate”“Work the metaphor”

— Bruce Mau

- All from Bruce Mau:- Note: do what you know, or copy someone.- Go from there...

Disclaimer-ise

5

“I know this is ridiculous, but ...”

- Keep face by prefacing everything with:- Tell them you’re about to be stupid.- Disarm them.

Thanks :)

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