by Paula Johnson
Oops! I once had a secretary who said “oops!” whenever she caught herself in a mistake. How gentle that word is. John and I didn’t grow up with “oops,” we grew up with punishment and an “I’m sorry.”. That being said, not all mistakes are as drastic as others.
NASA had originally used the US method of measurement calculations, but in 1990 decided to change all project calculations to the metric system. They believed it would be a better standardization and result in fewer math errors.
In 1999 Lockhead built the Mars Orbiter, but did not use NASA’s metric system in the design. The change was not caught throughout the entire process, and the Orbiter burnt up in the Martian atmosphere. A $193M error. Oops!
In the fall of 2014, Toys ‘R’ Us introduced four new action figures based on the very successful TV series Breaking Bad. The four figures included the drug kingpin, Heisenberg, and three dealers. Each of the four figures had detachable bags of cash and toy methamphetamine.
Though the company explained that these were only “for 15 and up” as well as being in the adult section, these toys(?) were pulled from the shelves. The series ended about the same time. Who thought these toys were a good idea? Oops!
Math and English teachers pay attention! You often tell your students to write their answers in a certain way and try to explain the importance of commas and decimal points. It is also important to know your client.
In a Lockhead 1999 contract, a clause adjusting the sales price based on inflation changes had an error in the math. The client was in England and used the European system of commas which are used instead of periods to denote a decimal. A comma was placed one point to the left by mistake. The error cost Lockhead $70M. Oops!
Remember those huge catalogs that came in the mail? Sears, Montgomery Ward, JC Penney, Spiegel, and more had catalogs not only throughout the year, but huge publications of everything from anklets to a zebra stuffed animal at Christmas. What happened?
January 1993, Sears stopped printing its huge catalogs and operating a delivery system. Sears claimed that increasing costs and shrinking profits caused the decision. Unfortunately, Sears didn’t have future thinking marketers. What they “always did” seemed to be the only route to go.
July 1994, an online bookstore began in a Washington state garage. Originally to be named Cadabra, the owner thought it was too close to “cadaver” and changed it to Amazon. The website, Amazon.com, began July 1995 and it hasn’t looked back.
All Bezos did at the time was fill a customer void created by Sears pulling out of the catalog market. Oops!
Failure can lead to success. Thomas Edison and many other inventors; celebrities who worked side gigs for years before “being discovered;” businesses that started in kitchens, garages, basements, etc. built a better mousetrap, filled a marketing void, and found success. Make the next success yours!
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