The notion that innovation and failure go hand-in-hand has become popular of late. It begins with the argument that many important innovations involved taking risks with potentially large costs but, most critically, completely unknown upsides. In his soon-to-be published book, Adapt, Tim Harford recounts the story of Mario Capecchi who leveraged safe NIH projects to fund a highly speculative attempt to make specific changes to the DNA of mice. Any rational evaluation at the time (1980) would have put that project in the realm of science fiction. Capecchi proved everyone wrong and we all reaped the rewards in terms of a sea change in cancer research.
Failure Isn’t Enough
The notion that innovation and failure go hand-in-hand has become popular of late. It begins with the argument that many important innovations involved taking risks with potentially large costs but, most critically, completely unknown upsides. In his soon-to-be published book, Adapt, Tim Harford recounts the story of Mario Capecchi who leveraged safe NIH projects to […]
April 14, 2011
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New!
HBR Learning
Innovation and Creativity Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Innovation and Creativity. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Unlock your team's curiosity and willingness to take smart risks.