Yet the true impact begins not with invention, but adoption. That’s when the second and third-order effects kick in. After all, the automobile was important not because it ended travel by horse, but because it created suburbs, gas stations and shopping malls.
Creating an environment where failure is not the end of the world isn’t about letting people make silly mistakes, it’s about defining what constitutes smart failure.
Leadership’s responsibility is to see the big-picture and appropriately invest in all the areas required to bring a successful innovation to market.