COST OF EDUCATION
COST OF EDUCATION
Failing is often the best way to learn, and because of that, early failure is a kind of necessary investment.
A famous story about IBM makes that point well. In the 1960s, an executive at IBM made a decision that ended up losing the company $10 million (about $70 million in 2009 dollars) . The CEO of lBM, 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.”