Companies Start To Reward Failure To Encourage Risk Taking And Innovation

To encourage risk taking and innovation some companies are moving to reward failure where they see ideas that failed but that had potential. The advertising agency Grey, for instance, has a "Heroic Failure” award that is given to an employee who demonstrated edgy risk. Companies are also trying to create cultures more conducive to innovation and experimentation. P&G has set up a separate division called FutureWorks to partner with vendors in an atmosphere supposedly that will encourage bolder innovation; Grey New York has a "no meeting zone" every Thursday morning; others have mediation or nap rooms. As author Judy Estrin says "Failure, and how companies deal with failure, is a very big part of innovation."