Learning From Mistakes

This failure in terms of the original product provided the impetus for what is now a billion dollar product platform for the company.

Sometimes great ideas come from mistake and apparent failures. 3M's Post-it notes began when a polymer chemist mixed an experimental batch of adhesive that turned out to be quite weak. This failure in terms of the original product provided the impetus for what is now a billion dollar product platform for the company.

In the late 1980's, scientists working for Pfizer began testing compound UK-92480 for the treatment of angina. Although it showed little benefit in clinical trails on humans, the team pursued an interesting side effect that led to UK-92480 becoming the drug Viagra.

ACTION POINT: Learn from mistakes.