Mistakes are good for innovation after all
Mistakes are bad, we learned as children. They usually result in immediate "punishment", but above all in negative feelings - or even consequences. At school in the form of bad grades and at home as a telling off from parents.
We take these experiences on the subject of mistakes with us into our lives - with momentous consequences: We believe we should be able to do everything and know everything. Should we not know something or, even worse, make a mistake, this is "embarrassing".
Failure can only happen to those who dare to do something.
In fact, there are many people who like to point the finger at others who have once failed professionally or generally in life. Often, these are the very people who have never dared to do anything themselves. Because it's easy and harmless to make fun of other people while sitting at home on the safe sofa (there are enough formats on TV that allude to exactly this). And now, all of a sudden, you should recognize mistakes as an opportunity for learning? Changing these deep thought patterns is anything but easy, as the following example also shows.
Error culture once, please!
"We need a culture of error," says the HR manager at a management meeting. "We can't demand on the one hand that our employees become more creative and innovative, but on the other hand go screaming through the departments every time they make a mistake!"
"So you want more errors in our company?" the controller asks sarcastically. "No! But I would like to see a more sensible and, above all, more human way of dealing with errors," replies the HR manager.
The controller's jugular vein is slowly swelling: "Every mistake costs money. Our money. And huge mistakes cost us huge amounts of money! This newfangled management stuff doesn't get us anywhere! Even if we make the same number of mistakes as we do today by launching an error culture, it won't have been worth it. Does your error culture bring the error rate down? Can you guarantee that?" Silence in the room.
The HR manager smiles at the controller and counters: "The error rate today is already massively higher than in your pretty Excel charts. Yes! Despite ISO standards and total quality management, your evaluations are simply not correct. Because employees are afraid to report errors, errors are covered up and swept under the table, if possible. And if you don't know and name the error, no one can learn from it. And the mistakes are repeated over and over again. And thus also cost massive amounts of money over and over again!" Silence again in the room.
Learn from mistakes (have to)
Are there companies in the business world that have successfully mastered this? Mostly, this question is answered with the showcase solution of the "Toyota Production System". Here, they have turned the approach around: Of course, Toyota also wants as few errors as possible in production, because they cost money here, too. But they communicate to employees that if mistakes happen, the company must learn from them - as a small trade-off for the amount the mistake costs. So here, covering up a mistake is worse than making a mistake. But even this solution is only as good as it is supported by managers and implemented by employees. That's why transparency and communication are crucial here, too. If no one knows why it's important to learn from mistakes, people will continue to cover up. If the internal culture is characterized by resentment and an elbow mentality, no error culture has a chance.
So it's worth thinking in general about what types of errors can occur. The "pointless" errors must be avoided, of course. Checklists can eliminate these routine errors as far as possible. The "meaningful" errors take the company further because important insights can be gained from them.
A question of culture
The solution: implement what is written in the mission statements of most companies.
- Really put the employee in the center! This means that you are allowed to talk to him. Not just once a year for 20 minutes in an annual meeting, but again and again.
- Communicate the values that are in the mission statement! By exemplifying them every day as a manager. If there are values such as openness, transparency, passion, optimism, courage, respect or trust, this should be an obligation.
By the way: You don't build an internal "culture" during a 2-day workshop. You build it between two workshops, months or even years apart. Then trust develops. And out of this trust, your own thought patterns regarding errors also change. And this is more than necessary.
The all-rounder is extinct
The mindset of being able to do everything brings many in the working world to the brink of burnout - and beyond. Our own delusion that we have to function "perfectly" is not only extremely exhausting, it is also frustrating. Because no human being is "perfect." We continue to dazzle ourselves with cool titles and job titles that no one understands anymore - and fewer and fewer people dare to ask. Perhaps we need to establish a culture where courageous employees who make a mistake in an ambitious project are praised. And in return, employees who are stuck in mediocrity and routine - and prefer to do nothing at all for fear of making mistakes - are more likely to be "punished."
Without crazy ideas, which logically always have a high error rate, important achievements and inventions would never have been possible. But in the end, many are dazzled by the perfect end result. Few can imagine the rocky road to get there. The road to a good error culture is also rocky - but it is definitely worth tackling.
Practical guide: Define errors!
When a culture of error is discussed for the first time in management meetings, the uncertainty is palpable. After all, there is actually a clear attitude: mistakes cost money. We don't want to lose money, so we don't make mistakes. But what if the company wants to be innovative? Does it want to tackle new ideas, new products or new target groups? Doesn't it then need the "crazies," the dreamers and creative people whose ideas can perhaps produce that one sparkling idea?
Every innovative company makes an incredible number of mistakes. The advantage: These companies learn extremely much. So have a discussion in your company about what you want your company to be like. And if there is even a semblance of innovation seeping through, you should talk about your error culture. Or ask all employees what innovation might be next in your industry - and what dangers lurk. If you get little feedback from a hundred employees, be sure to reflect on the error culture and the sense of purpose conveyed. After all, thinking along is not a freestyle in innovative companies, but a duty. However, you have to allow this culture. Otherwise, you will make a serious mistake.
