Oops – Was that an Accident or Innovation in the Making?

Many of the world’s greatest breakthroughs have not been the results of invention, but of the intervention required by the aspiring innovator to see something new or intriguing – often as the outcome of an “accident.” Take for example penicillin, which was the result of Alexander Fleming noting the formation of mold on the side of a Petri dish left uncleaned overnight. Vulcanized rubber was discovered in 1839 when Charles Goodyear accidentally dropped a lump of the polymer substance he was experimenting with onto his wife's cook stove. More recently, 3M's Post-It was also the result of an accident in the lab.

Mitchell Ditkoff, author of Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (In an Uphill World), offers innovators the following advice:

1. Think about a recent project, pilot, or business of yours that did not turn out the way you expected.

2. Ask yourself if any of the unexpected results offer you a clue or insight about how you might proceed differently.

3. Instead of interpreting your results as "failure," consider the fact that the results are simply nature's way of getting you to see something new -- something that merits further exploration.

For more information on Ditkoff and its book, click here.