Perfect Wrongs were common in manufacturing before several innovations in assembly philosophy were introduced. An error early on that remained or propagated through the rest of assembly, only to be discovered at final QC, led to costly rework and waste.
But to a maker or entrepreneur, a Perfect Wrong is anything but something to be ashamed of. Quite the contrary…they are often viewed as a badge of honor. Part of the learning process. What not to do next time. One of Edison’s many ways “not to build a light bulb.”
My favorite wrong is one with a specific name in German: Schlimbesserung. In English it takes a few words to explain, but the concept is recognizable to almost everyone: “an improvement that makes things worse.”
And as you do, John, I keep examples of my wrongs around for good measure. And they also make great stories! :-)
Perfect Wrongs were common in manufacturing before several innovations in assembly philosophy were introduced. An error early on that remained or propagated through the rest of assembly, only to be discovered at final QC, led to costly rework and waste.
But to a maker or entrepreneur, a Perfect Wrong is anything but something to be ashamed of. Quite the contrary…they are often viewed as a badge of honor. Part of the learning process. What not to do next time. One of Edison’s many ways “not to build a light bulb.”
My favorite wrong is one with a specific name in German: Schlimbesserung. In English it takes a few words to explain, but the concept is recognizable to almost everyone: “an improvement that makes things worse.”
And as you do, John, I keep examples of my wrongs around for good measure. And they also make great stories! :-)