For years, Edison corresponded with miners throughout the United States. The deposits of ore along the East Coast, Ohio and Pennsylvania were littered with nonferrous rock that had to be removed before the ore was smelted, DeGraaf explains. In , Edison envisioned an ore separator with powerful electromagnets that could parse the fine ore particles from rocks, depositing them into two different bins. To give himself a competitive advantage, Edison constructed several large-scale plants he believed could process up to 5, tons of ore a day, DeGraaf says.
After opening and closing a few small experimental plants, he constructed a plant near Ogdensburg, New Jersey, which gave him access to 19, acres of minerals. Edison managed the plant in Ogdensburg—a change of pace for the inventor. The endeavor presented issues from the very beginning. Edison could never quite get the lab to full capacity. He rejiggered machines a dozen times over at all steps in the process, from crushing to separating and drying. The work came with a hefty price tag, with which Edison nor his investors could cover.
Ore milling was a failed experiment Edison took a decade to let go—an uncharacteristically long time for the quick-stepping innovator. His and the other major phonograph companies, including Victor and Columbia, manufactured the machines as well as the records they played. Edison believed his records were superior, DeGraaf says, and thought giving buyers access to more of his catalog was the only way to prove it.
He rolled out the club in , sending subscribers 20 records in the mail each month. After two days, they selected the records they wanted to order and sent the samples on to the next subscriber.
Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! After some thought and research, he believed he found a solution: build a separation plant to pulverize low-grade iron ore and produce an abundant supply of iron. The machines disastrously failed, causing Edison to lose a substantial amount of money.
A few years and a new successful design later, the entire endeavor still failed when iron extractors began to mine the Mesabi iron range in Minnesota, cutting iron costs so dramatically that Edison closed his plant entirely.
Nonetheless, there was a major silver lining in the failure. Edison took what he learned and later applied some of the methods to concrete production, which ultimately became one of his major entrepreneurial successes.
Put their feet to the fire, and make them back up these blustery assertions. Be especially vigilant to dispute stats that are negative, that douse your fire to succeed, to risk, to undertake something new and unprecedented.
But wait a minute. Lots of people, for instance, start landscaping businesses, without training or licenses. With only a trusty lawnmower, edger, and shears, they knock on doors, hoping to develop a clientele.
No matter your personal and professional dreams, it starts with communication. If every great chef believed the discouraging stats saying he or she was doomed, no chef would ever open his or her doors. People strike out on their own for lots of good reasons, and profitability is merely one of them. A major motive is to feel independent, self-reliant. For the persistent soul who actually earned the gold watch from the huge corporation, suddenly doing everything by herself and for herself in a new business can be exhilarating.
That could be worth all of the sweat and tears. Plus, it may be in the cards to have one or two losing ventures before you learn how to do it better. Maybe those failures are just parts one and two of a three-part drama, necessary precursors to inevitable victory, yet they're reported as miscues. When I started my own independent consulting business more than 20 years ago, I never knew how unlikely my success was, and I'm really happy no one told me!
I recall a great experience being on the team that delivered the largest civilian U. Navy management-training program in history. We trained 18, senior managers in 18 months. Statistics pertaining to failure rates are often misleading in other contexts. Babe Ruth was at the same time the home-run king and the fellow who struck out more than anyone else in the majors. How can that be? Well, the simplest explanation is that you have to swing the bat many times to hit the most homers, and swinging the bat many times also brings many strikeouts.
So, the very thing that causes your success contributes to your failure. Apart from invention and entrepreneurship, it is all too easy to be daunted by statistics in our personal and family lives. He meant the chances for having a baby with birth defects, which of course, is a serious matter.
For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
0コメント