BQF Innovation Blog » beatle http://www.bqf.org.uk/innovation The BQF is the community for every business seeking excellent insights, tools and experiences to improve itself. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:11:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Famous Failures http://www.bqf.org.uk/innovation/2009/02/27/famous-failures/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=famous-failures http://www.bqf.org.uk/innovation/2009/02/27/famous-failures/#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:56:42 +0000 Paul Sloane http://www.bqf.org.uk/innovation/?p=257 Here is a great little video clip on a favourite theme of mine.  We should welcome failure.  It is a natural part of the innovation process and not something to be feared or avoided.  Many of the people and products that we now applaud as great successes were once seen as failures.

Paul Sloane

[...]]]> Here is a great little video clip on a favourite theme of mine.  We should welcome failure.  It is a natural part of the innovation process and not something to be feared or avoided.  Many of the people and products that we now applaud as great successes were once seen as failures.

Paul Sloane

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]]> http://www.bqf.org.uk/innovation/2009/02/27/famous-failures/feed/ 0 11 of the Dumbest Business Decisions Ever http://www.bqf.org.uk/innovation/2008/05/09/11-of-the-dumbest-business-decisions-ever/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=11-of-the-dumbest-business-decisions-ever http://www.bqf.org.uk/innovation/2008/05/09/11-of-the-dumbest-business-decisions-ever/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 08:06:10 +0000 Paul Sloane http://www.bqf.org.uk/innovation/?p=95 We know that innovation involves taking risks.  Yet it often seems that the safe option is to turn down the risk.  However, turning down a risk is also a risk – the risk of losing an opportunity.  Just to remind us of how big that risk is we have here a list of some of [...]]]> We know that innovation involves taking risks.  Yet it often seems that the safe option is to turn down the risk.  However, turning down a risk is also a risk – the risk of losing an opportunity.  Just to remind us of how big that risk is we have here a list of some of the worst decisions in business history.

They include Decca Records turning down the Beatles, Western Union rejecting the telephone, Mars confectionery missing out on ET, Henry Ford refusing to change the Model T and Digital Research missing the opportunity to provide the operating system for the IBM PC.  It is very easy for us with hindsight to scoff at the business leaders who made these decisions but  I am sure that the choices seemed rational at the time. 

Of course most bands are not the Beatles and many have to be rejected.  But it is easy to become too critical too soon.  How many of the ideas and proposals that we have rejected were missed opportunities?  When we look at the costs of a risky venture we need to factor in the cost of missing the opportunity too. 

Paul Sloane

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