Innovation Insights
by Stephen Shapiro

undersampling of failure

The Undersampling of Failure

While speaking at a conference several years ago, I tried an experiment. I told the audience I had discovered the five best practices that nearly all successful people share. I printed these practices on a sheet of paper and invited ten successful people from the audience to join me on stage.

I asked each individual how many of these practices they used in their personal life or business. All ten of these successful entrepreneurs used all five practices.

The audience gasped. They were on the edge of their seats, waiting to hear the keys to the kingdom. I then read off the five practices:

  • Read your email (at least) once a day
  • Smile (at least) once a day
  • Brush your teeth (nearly) every day
  • Shower (at least) twice a week
  • Wear clothes to work

Although the successful entrepreneurs all laughed, the audience was disappointed.

But it made an important point. Whenever you hear about a best practice, consider whether it was the cause of success rather than a coincidence or correlation.

This is from the preface of the updated edition of Best Practices Are Stupid.