TRENDING
However, the definition of ‘failure’ depends
on the industry. Over two in five (44%) of
those in health and social care view late
delivery as failure, whereas only a fifth
(20%) of those in financial services feel
the same way. More than 72% of the total
respondents define a project that comes in
over budget as a failure. This is compared to
nearly half (45%) who define it as a failure
to achieve the original designated outcome.
While the definition of failure may differ
across industries, it’s comforting to see
that whatever the failure, companies are
willing to embrace it. Only 28% regard
failure as frowned upon or career-limiting
and for these organisations, this attitude
is highly likely to stifle innovation. Yet for
the majority, failure is embraced as a step
towards innovation.
26
INTELLIGENTCIO
Stephen Long, MD at KCOM Enterprise, said:
“It is positive to see that organisations are
embracing cloud technology as the path to
innovation and they recognise some of the
challenges holding them back. However, too
many are prevented from giving their all to
innovation projects by fear of failure.
“Innovation, by its very nature, involves
pushing the boundaries of what is known
and understood. Organisations must accept
that failure plays an important role in doing
this. Only by obeying Samuel Beckett’s
dictum to ‘Try again. Fail again. Fail better’
can companies truly unlock the value of the
cloud and new ways of working.
“Fortune favours the bold, so companies need
to prepare to fail and build in a fast failure
stage into all their innovation projects.” n
Stephen Long, MD at KCOM Enterprise
www.intelligentcio.com