Earn & Invest 702. Try. Fail. Learn w/ Lorraine Marchand
Jan 26, 2026
Lorraine Marchand, business innovation consultant and author of No Fear, No Failure, shares lessons from decades teaching innovation. She debunks myths about big breakthroughs. Innovation is a discipline you practice. Learn practical customer research, cheap prototype tests, and how fear and culture stifle risk-taking. She promotes small experiments, pivots guided by evidence, and reframing failure as learning.
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Ask Six Core Customer Questions
- Ask six core questions starting with 'Who is my customer?' and map stakeholders and behaviors.
- Show customers at least three solutions and get their feedback to reduce bias and resistance to change.
Test Early With Minimal Prototypes
- Let early adopters test prototypes free or in a sandbox to learn behavior and improve the product.
- Use rapid, minimal prototypes and iterative testing rather than rushing to full market launch.
Fear Kills Organizational Innovation
- Fear of failure and cultural risk aversion are primary killers of innovation inside large organizations.
- Safe cultures teach people to avoid risk, which drives disengagement or pushes innovators to leave.
