Sequencing Apple's DNA

11Failures Left Behind

11.1. Why failures?

By common standards, a failure is a negative experience that should be avoided by all means. It leaves bad impressions, psychological traces and is hard to recover from. But, how do we learn, if not from failures? A child’s ability to learn is fully based on failures; why not take stock of our biological nature to improve all that we do and forever?

But, wait a minute, says our consciousness (which is hard). We deserve some rest after our successes, which we acquired at a high cost.

11.1.1. Business school

• – A failure is a negative experience that should be avoided by all means.
• – Standard pitch: avoid failure, pursue wealth and resolve the short-term first.

11.1.2. Apple

Failed often. Badly. Unquestionably.

Own way: fail many times. Pursue insightful things with intensity.

11.2. Failure dissolves in time

There is intrinsic heaviness in being successful. You may avoid failure for a long time, but you will become heavy. This drives innovation out of industry.

The lightness of being a beginner again makes you less sure about everything but makes you free to pursue creativity. Get something and understand it thoroughly. This brings innovation in.

With intensity, time loses its linearity. Time is not linear. What counts is what happens tomorrow. Think long-term.

11.3. A basket of historical failures

Below is a quick recap of a collection of memorable fiascos and aborted projects that went, for the most part, into oblivion. Going ...