On the back of our discussion last week on the value of making mistakes and drawing distinction and learning from them I thought this piece adapted from “From Space” by James A Michener quite appropriate to illustrate the power of creating ‘Learning Experiences’.
“In 1943, Wernher von Braun was working on a rocket the Germans hoped would destroy London and end the war. Producing this rocket required new metals, new fuels, new guidance systems, new everything.
Von Braun’s superiors were impatient to move the project to completion. They were angered by the many changes he had sent to the factories responsible for manufacturing the rocket.
“You are supposed to be the ultimate brain in this operation…do you know offhand how many last-minute changes you’ve made in your rocket plans…since you started two years ago?”
They waved a piece of paper before Von Braun. “Make a guess, Professor. How many changes have you sent to the factories?” And there the ridiculous figure was: 65,121. It was accurate. Von Braun acknowledged his 65,121 mistakes.
He then estimated he would make 5,OOO more before the rocket was ready.
“It takes sixty-five thousand errors before you are qualified to make a rocket,” he said. “Russia has made maybe thirty thousand of them by now. America hasn’t made any.”
In the second half of World War II, Germany, alone, pounded her enemies with ballistic missiles; no other country had them.
And when the war was over, Wernher von Braun became the “ultimate brain” in America’s space program. Only a few years and many mistakes later, America put a man on the moon”.
I wonder how many ‘Learning Experiences’ you are willing to make to bring your vision to reality?
