The monkey, the tiger beetle and the language of innovation

In a fear-based, failure-averse culture, people will consciously or unconsciously avoid risk. They will seek instead to repeat something safe that’s been good enough in the past. Their work will be derivative, not innovative. But if you can foster a positive understanding of failure, the opposite will happen.

As soon as I started talking to different teams, I realized my superpower. A lot of engineers only trust other engineers. Just like finance people only trust finance people. People like people who think like them. So engineers often keep their distance from sales, marketing, creative—all the functions that are soft, squishy. It’s just like how many

in the face of uncertainty and constraints, Challengers don’t shrink back. They drive progress for their brand and beyond, into the categories they shape. And to realise those ambitions, they believe that success is predicated on creating an internal culture of bravery, as much as it is manifesting that bravery externally.

Culture of experimentation—teams know they can run tests; some will succeed and many will fail, and this is acceptable and understood. Culture of open minds—teams know that good ideas can come from anywhere and aren't always obvious at the outset.

Livingston: Was there ever a time when a competitor did something that made you fearful? Currier: iVillage started copying us, and I was very worried about it for probably a year, and then it all just faded away. Probably because it's hard to get the engineers, the psychologists, and the writers to talk to one another. You've got to build a culture