Failing is often the best way to learn, and because of that, early failure is a kind of necessary investment. In the 1960s, an executive at IBM made a decision that ended up losing the company $10 million. The CEO of IBM, Tom Watson, summoned the offending executive to his office at corporate headquarters. The Journalist Paul B. Carroll described what happened next:

As the executive cowered, Watson asked, "Do you know why I've asked you here?"

The man replied, "I assume I'm here so you can fire me."

Watson looked surprised. "Fire you?" he asked. "Of course not. I just spent $10 million educating you. I wanted to make sure you learned the right lesson."

- Switch

Back to Blog