Mistakes happen – and then what? The 2016 Hochsprung Conference, a symposium on startup development at universities in Bavaria, addressed the modern culture of error in startups, companies, and organizations.
What is a modern error culture? And how do you create one in companies, startups, and organizations? — To approach the topic of error culture, Prof. Dr. em. Theo Wehner introduced the conference in Entrepreneurship Center Garching with a closer look at the term "error." Not everything that is colloquially referred to as an "error" necessarily actually is one. A precise distinction is required here: Is it actually a genuine error, or have external circumstances contributed to the fact that no error occurred at all? correct could be traded?
Fear of mistakes stops innovation
The subsequent keynote speeches provided a bit more concrete insight. For example, Prof. Dr. Kuckertz from the University of Hohenheim stated that a culture of error in a company is not an end in itself, but rather helps employees feel confident trying new approaches. Fear of making mistakes, on the other hand, can contribute to stifling innovation. Rather, it's important to identify the causes of errors and utilize this knowledge.
Dr. Nils Löber makes it clear that not all error cultures are created equal. In his keynote speech, "I See Something You Don't! — Dealing with Errors in Healthcare," Löber, who works in the Quality and Risk Management department at the Charité Hospital in Berlin, pointed out that errors in startups can generate new momentum, but can be fatal in healthcare. Despite all this, a culture of error must be developed here as well. The goal is to identify and eliminate as many sources of error as possible.
In her presentation, Junior Professor Dr. Kathrin Rosig from the University of Kassel once again presented mistakes as an opportunity for entrepreneurial action by each individual.
After theory comes practice
After the conference participants had heard a lot about error culture in the morning, they were able to actively exchange ideas on specific topics in workshops and knowledge cafés in the afternoon.
Particularly interesting for the startup sector: The Knowledge Café on the topic of “Error culture thanks to crowdfunding” led by Markus Sauerhammer from the crowdfunding platform StartnextHere, the question was explored as to why crowdfunding can “defuse” errors in the start-up process and thus contribute to the development of a culture of error.
In conclusion, all participants agreed that it was certainly not a mistake to attend this year’s high jump conference.
