How a Massive Failure Became One of the World's Most Beloved Essentials

—- 1968, in a remote laboratory in the snowy countryside of Minnesota —---

"Oh the hell with this glue!" Spencer yelled angrily.

Spencer Silver - a scientist in the lab of a company named 3M, was working on an important project - trying to produce the strongest glue in the world.

That day - the chemical composition he mixed not only did not produce a strong glue, but the glue it produced was so weak - you could stick paper to the wall with it and then easily peel it off with your pinky.

Spencer had to take a break. It’s been a long day and he’s not going anywhere productive. He tossed the goggles and gloves on his desk, and left to grab some coffee.

While sipping at his coffee mug, he had an interesting thought: "Huh, I wonder if we can actually do something with this loose glue thing."

But he did nothing about it…

The project was later shut down and considered a failure for 3M.

— Six years later —

Spencer was leaning over his desk when all of the sudden he was startled by a call at the door at the lab:

"Hey there! Are you Spencer?'

Spencer turned in his chair in surprise. "Yes," he replied, "who are you?"

"I'm Art. Art Frey, I'm a new engineer here."

"Can I help you?" Spencer asked

"Sure" replied Art. "Maybe you can help me... it's not related to work, but... I'm part of my church choir, and I’m the one that marks the books of where the choir should open up and sing from. The only problem is - the papers I mark the books with - fall off each time and that’s annoying. I need to have some sort of paper that will not fall but will still stick out of the books…”

Spencer suddenly recalled his failure of invention - “the weakest glue in the world”.

- "Actually..." said Spencer.. "I have a feeling that I just might be able to help."

Spencer and Art bonded, working together in the lab for hours on end on this unrelated side project.

In any other company - this would look unusual, even rude for employees to use a company’s resources to work on a side project. But not at 3M…

Because at 3M - experiments are actually encouraged!

Spencer and Art created a kind of “sticky bookmark", which turned out as a great solution for Art's church choir.

Fast forward a few years later - we have the product that has become a standard in the world:

The Sticky Notes 💫

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Were the Sticky Notes a fluke?

Well, in a way yes, but you could beg to differ…

As creativity & innovation lead as core values in 3M - they came up with a few more inventions you might have heard of…

- Sandpaper: Yes... they invented the sandpaper

- Scotch Tape: Yes… they fucking invented masking tape

- Scotch brite: Yes, yes! Think about it the next time you wash the dishes

Many of us haven’t heard of 3M, because there is no Elon Musk behind them. And their CEO doesn’t take over twitter or challenge Mark Zukerberg to a UFC match on social media.

But - there are CEOs, VPs, Directors and managers - trained on values of creativity and experimentation, and an amazing organizational culture from which we can learn a lot from!

Here are just a few things 3M has in place:

The 15% Rule: Employees dedicate 15% of their time to pursue personal projects, fostering exploration, experimentation, and innovation.

Cross-functional Collaboration: Diverse teams and departments collaborate, enabling the intersection of perspectives and ideas, leading to creative solutions.

Support for Innovation: 3M provides resources, including dedicated R&D teams, advanced labs, and funding, empowering employees to explore and realize their innovative ideas.

Recognition and Rewards: Creative contributions are acknowledged and celebrated through recognition programs, awards, and incentives, fostering a culture that values and encourages inventiveness.

Learning and Development: 3M invests in employees' growth through training and learning opportunities, empowering them to think creatively and overcome complex challenges.

3M's corporate culture deeply embraces creativity, recognizing its vital role in driving innovation. By fostering a supportive environment, providing resources and incentives, 3M empowers employees to embrace creativity, take risks, and transform failures into extraordinary assets for the future.

So…

How might you create a space for collaborative experimentation in YOUR workspace?