If we want a different outcome for the insurance industry in 2015 and beyond, we have to accept the F-word as part of the package. (No, not that F-word … sheesh.)
Failure. It's the dirtiest word in business and the most important word for change and innovation.
Why? Because we don't learn anything of value unless we try something we haven't done. And when we do that, getting it right the first time is nearly impossible.
That's not to say that the tried-and-true in our business isn't valuable. We need to continue to do that which we are great at. However, there are way too many complaints in the industry now about growth, sustainability and the "future of." Sticking to what has worked in the past, and doing that alone, isn't enough. If anything it's the definition of insanity.
So keep doing those things, just put some of your energy and resources into something different. That requires taking some risk, and dropping some F-bombs.
This won't be another one of those "lessons in failure" discussions. There are plenty of those out there already. In fact, if you do a Google search for that phrase, roughly 87 million entries will come up. That's enough.
However, this will be about re-framing failure in a way that is more relatable and less threatening. It is a myth that the best innovators in the world are okay with failure. They hate it as much as you do — maybe even more. However, they have a different kind of relationship with it.
What's different? Essentially three things:
