The first weekend of December is always about celebrating our valley’s joie de vivre with the fabulous Franschhoek Cap Classique & Champagne Festival. Sparkling wine is enjoyed and appreciated globally as part of special celebrations and increasingly as an everyday drink, something that is quite remarkable if you consider that this famous product was originally a mistake!
We all know the romantic tale of how the first Champagnes came to be. Dom Perignon is credited for inventing sparkling wine by mistake as he tasted what he thought was a spoiled wine and then exclaimed “come quickly, I am tasting the stars!” Although Dom Perignon did play a very important role in the making of champagne, this story might not be completely accurate. The more likely history of champagne is that winemakers of the Champagne region had to deal with very cold winters that halted fermentation and in summer, when temperatures picked up, their still wines often underwent a secondary fermentation in the bottle. As these bottles weren’t intended to maintain such pressure, cellars were dangerous places to be with bottles often exploding and, in the process, hurting cellar workers. Bubbles weren’t popular at all! But how that has changed!
According to The Economist, the value of champagne sales hit €6.4bn ($6.9bn) in 2023. Other Sparkling Wines are also riding the wave across all categories. Consumption grew by double-digit percentages between 2020 and 2021, and 2022 has shown a continuation in that growth with sparkling wine estimated to be a $36.7 billion industry. This is especially interesting as wine consumption is on the decline with spirits and RTDs competing for market share.
A mistake that doesn’t only make millions, but billions. But there are other mistakes that also led to great discoveries – penicillin, pacemakers and Velcro! (See list below). Romanticizing mistakes can, however, be dangerous. We know that mistakes in a business environment are not ideal. They can result in financial loss, damage to reputation, or missed opportunities. Can there be anything positive about allowing ourselves to make a mistake? While it is important for the individual to make mistakes in order to learn, grow and identify areas to improve or skills to develop, in business, mistakes should be avoided. Having said that, they are bound to happen.
How do we deal with mistakes in business? According to the Harvard Business Review: “… mistakes are a part of business, just as they’re a part of life. And approaching mistakes with humility, transparency, and confidence takes practice, but it’s an invaluable skill for developing as a leader.”
Some practical advice when a mistake happens in business:
- acknowledge
- analyze
- give feedback
- find a plan to correct the problem
- implement a new procedure
- monitor continuously
- share learnings
Perhaps it is also important to think about how to prevent mistakes from happening in the first place. This will very much depend on the type of business and whether it is a big corporate or a small start-up. In general, however, the best way to prevent mistakes from happening is to have a clear business model, invest in thorough research, listen to customer feedback and to have sound financial management.
Mistakes are to be avoided, but they are bound to happen. Any business must position itself to avoid mistakes and have a clear strategy when they do occur, but, perhaps, we can allow ourselves to dream about raising a glass to a mistake that made millions.
Some more famous mistakes :
- Penicillin – In 1928, British bacteriologist Alexander Fleming noticed that bacteria did not grow around a mouldy fungus in one of his petri dishes.
- Microwave oven – In 1945, Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer noticed a candy bar melting in his pocket while he was experimenting with a radar-related vacuum tube.
- Pacemaker – In 1956, Wilson Greatbath installed the wrong resistor in a heart rhythm recording device and noticed that the circuit emitted electrical pulses
- Post-it notes – In 1968, 3M chemist Dr. Spencer Silver accidentally invented a super-weak adhesive that could be used to temporarily stick things together.
- Corn flakes – Brothers accidentally left a pot of boiled grain on the stove for several days, and the mixture turned mouldy but dry and thick. They then eliminated the mould and created corn flakes.
- Teflon – In 1938, DuPont employee Ray Plunkett made a lucky blunder that resulted in Teflon.
- Potato chips – In 1853, chef George Crum at Moon’s Lake House in New York invented potato chips after a guest complained that their fries were not crisp enough.
- Velcro – Swiss engineer George de Mestral was frustrated by burrs that stuck to his clothing and his dog’s fur and noticed that the burrs had tiny hooks that enabled them to stick to almost anything.