The Failures of SpaceX
"How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster" is a hilarious visual anthology of explosions. SpaceX celebrates its failures on YouTube (nearly 26 million views). They are not failures. Each launch is an experiment from which the company learns a great deal, also, or perhaps, especially, when things go 'wrong'.
SpaceX has a completely different approach than NASA with this iterative method of experimenting and learning. It's a well-known story. Sarah van Sonsbeeck's story is less well-known, but also intriguing. She told it in the podcast 'Wonder'presented by Harald Dunnink.
Artwork is finished after unplanned vandalism
Sarah van Sonsbeeck is an artist and mesmerized by silence, in a world where silence no longer seems to exist. That is why she designed a cubic meter of silence, made of glass. She was actually ashamed of the artwork, but De Paviljoens museum in Almere (now defunct) wanted it in the collection. It stood outside until it was taken by vandals. “There were bricks in it and a sleeper pierced right through it. It was a miracle! As if there was a diamond instead of the work I actually hated. Only then did I think: the work is done. ”
What was a failure for Sarah, suddenly became a success due to the input of others.
View the artwork on Sarah van Sonsbeeck's website.
Encourage Successful Failures
Make sure you can fail as a team. Avoid always taking the safe route, with predictable results. Also dare to choose the uncertain path. In a strategic plan, include not only achievable goals (on which you can be judged), but also goals that challenge you and force you to be creative. That force you to experiment, creating room for unexpected insights and outcomes.
And take fixed moments to evaluate the results as a team. Discuss the results of your actions and learn from each other. Let others think along to make the results much better. And be open about your concerns and mistakes. Then determine what the next steps are? Do you continue in the same way or do you need to make adjustments? Be surprised by the results.
Do you also want more successful failures in your organization? Make a sharp plan with ambitious goals and continuously learn from your experiences. View our working method and get started. Then it can (not) fail!