Situations like the one in the cartoon are quite common, especially in organizations where the culture of blame has deep roots.<\/p>\n
Situations that make us ask a few questions:<\/span><\/p>\n In this post, I want to tell you about the different types of errors we can make so that we can avoid the unwanted ones and consciously make the others.<\/p>\n Most importantly,<\/p>\n Now let’s get right to the point.<\/p>\n The first type of error<\/strong><\/span> that we can make is the infringement of the law<\/strong>, or more generally of the rights of others, which is committed consciously<\/strong>; classic examples are corruption, tax evasion, false accounting and more: the list can be endless. Whoever deliberately violates the law seeks to gain advantages at the expense of others and to escape the law.<\/p>\n The second type of error<\/strong> is foolishness<\/strong>, which does not bring advantages to the author or even causes him damage; one becomes aware of the foolishness committed later, when one does not achieve the expected results or suffers damage. Foolishness is often accompanied by regret and can be generated by the unconscious infringement of the law<\/strong>, distraction<\/strong> or underestimation<\/strong> of the consequences of certain choices or actions.<\/p>\n The third type<\/strong> is latent errors<\/strong>, generated by conscious actions<\/strong> that have unexpected consequences<\/strong>. These actions can be generated by an erroneous perception of reality, by the mental traps to which we are exposed, by insufficient knowledge of the environment or of the task we are carrying out. The consequences<\/strong> of this type of error are visible<\/strong> only sometime later<\/strong>, when the outcomes become evident and remedying them is very difficult if not impossible. An example of a latent error is the one generated by the so-called liking bias, which leads us to buy things we don’t strictly need from people we like: we realize the error later, when the purchase has been made and the product is revealed as useless.<\/p>\n The fourth type of error<\/strong> is the systematic<\/strong> one, that is, the one we make intentionally to increase our knowledge<\/strong>. This type of error is rarely used both by individuals and organizations because, when we have to identify a solution of any kind, we tend to think to have a definite idea in our pocket and look for validation; a significant point, the validation of our intuition is also for us an indirect measure of our worth as a person. In support of the value of systematic error, I quote Thomas Edison, who knew quite a lot about inventions:<\/p>\n At this point it is fair to ask a couple of questions:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
I want to introduce you to systematic error and ways to employ it successfully, over time.<\/h4>\n
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.<\/h4>\n
The real measure of success is the number of experiments you can concentrate on in twenty-four hours.<\/h4>\n