Kodak had one of the first digital cameras back in 1977, but decided to keep focused on film.
McDonalds’ failed $100 million ad campaign for its Arch Deluxe sandwich
Ford’s Edsel
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7
Blockbuster declined to buy Netflix in order to focus on its brick and mortar outlets
Dick Rowe of Decca Records rejected The Beatles, declaring that “guitar bands are on their way out.”
Gerald Ratner, CEO of jewelry company says of his products that they are “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long” Gerald Ratner - Wikipedia
Kodak had one of the first digital cameras back in 1977, but decided to keep focused on film.
McDonalds’ failed $100 million ad campaign for its Arch Deluxe sandwich
Ford’s Edsel
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7
Blockbuster declined to buy Netflix in order to focus on its brick and mortar outlets
Dick Rowe of Decca Records rejected The Beatles, declaring that “guitar bands are on their way out.”
Gerald Ratner, CEO of jewelry company says of his products that they are “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long” Gerald Ratner - Wikipedia
AOL / Time Warner merger
3M adhesive that didn’t really stick well; so they used it for Post-It Notes and, well, you (hopefully) know the rest of the story!
It was a failure because 3M was looking for a new adhesive, and this formula was not a good adhesive. But 3M kept the formula in their library, and then later realized they could apply it to something new, a Post-It note.
It was a case study in the book, In Search of Excellence. It’s a great story, and a great book.
ETA – it’s an example of a failure that was later used for a success. The initial formula, as an adhesive, failed.
I’d call it a business mistake, but not a BIG business mistake. Companies’ R&D departments come up with millions of products that never make it to market.
Depends on how much resources were spent on the initial project. It’s been years since I read the book but IIRC the point was that it was initially a big mistake, but the situation was salvaged by applying the failure to what later was a successful product.
Kodak had one of the first digital cameras back in 1977, but decided to keep focused on film.
McDonalds’ failed $100 million ad campaign for its Arch Deluxe sandwich
Ford’s Edsel
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7
Blockbuster declined to buy Netflix in order to focus on its brick and mortar outlets
Dick Rowe of Decca Records rejected The Beatles, declaring that “guitar bands are on their way out.”
Gerald Ratner, CEO of jewelry company says of his products that they are “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long” Gerald Ratner - Wikipedia
AOL / Time Warner merger
3M adhesive that didn’t really stick well; so they used it for Post-It Notes and, well, you (hopefully) know the rest of the story!
Daimler-Benz and Chrysler “merger” ended up costing Daimler-Benz over $20 billion from 1998-2007.
Kodak had one of the first digital cameras back in 1977, but decided to keep focused on film.
McDonalds’ failed $100 million ad campaign for its Arch Deluxe sandwich
Ford’s Edsel
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7
Blockbuster declined to buy Netflix in order to focus on its brick and mortar outlets
Dick Rowe of Decca Records rejected The Beatles, declaring that “guitar bands are on their way out.”
Gerald Ratner, CEO of jewelry company says of his products that they are “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long” Gerald Ratner - Wikipedia
AOL / Time Warner merger
3M adhesive that didn’t really stick well; so they used it for Post-It Notes and, well, you (hopefully) know the rest of the story!
Daimler-Benz and Chrysler “merger” ended up costing Daimler-Benz over $20 billion from 1998-2007.
Sony waited years before allowing other manufacturers license agreements to make Betamax tapes
Kodak had one of the first digital cameras back in 1977, but decided to keep focused on film.
McDonalds’ failed $100 million ad campaign for its Arch Deluxe sandwich
Ford’s Edsel
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7
Blockbuster declined to buy Netflix in order to focus on its brick and mortar outlets
Dick Rowe of Decca Records rejected The Beatles, declaring that “guitar bands are on their way out.”
Gerald Ratner, CEO of jewelry company says of his products that they are “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long” Gerald Ratner - Wikipedia
AOL / Time Warner merger
3M adhesive that didn’t really stick well; so they used it for Post-It Notes and, well, you (hopefully) know the rest of the story!
Daimler-Benz and Chrysler “merger” ended up costing Daimler-Benz over $20 billion from 1998-2007.
Sony waited years before allowing other manufacturers license agreements to make Betamax tapes
JC Penney hired the former CEO of Apple to redesign their stores - turns out Apple customers and JCP customers don’t like the same things
New topic: Geographical anomalies
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
A part of Delaware is east of the Delaware River, and you can step from Delaware into New Jersey on dry land.
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
A part of Delaware is east of the Delaware River, and you can step from Delaware into New Jersey on dry land.
Lake Okeechobee - The largest freshwater lake in Florida and the spot where 5 different counties intersect.
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
A part of Delaware is east of the Delaware River, and you can step from Delaware into New Jersey on dry land.
Llanymynech - has a national border running down the middle of its main street. The eastern side of the road lies in England, and the western side of the road is in Wales
West Fulton county Kentucky - cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the meandering Mississippi, only land border is with Tennessee, and almost entirely surrounded by Missouri
Northwest Angle, Minnesota - Northernmost point of the continental United States
The easternmost point on the continental USA is a place called West Quoddy Head, ME
Four Corners - the only place in the US where four states meet (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
Bir Tawil - an 800 square mile area along the border between Egypt and Sudan that neither country wants to lay claim to
Point Roberts, WA - a town on a peninsula that you can only access by land from the continental US by going into British Columbia.
Alaska - simultaneously the easternmost and westernmost US state, as the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180º line of Longitude, into the Eastern Hemisphere.
A part of Delaware is east of the Delaware River, and you can step from Delaware into New Jersey on dry land.
Llanymynech - has a national border running down the middle of its main street. The eastern side of the road lies in England, and the western side of the road is in Wales
Bratislava, Slovakia: the only capital city in the world that is located at a country tripoint: the intersections of Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria (the tripoint is outside the urban area but the city’s administrative area extends out to the borders)