William McKnight was the CEO of 3M, also known as the “innovation company”, from 1949 to 1966. He was a living example of how all managers should create an environment which fosters a growth mindset (you can read more about that here) in order to create a successful, thriving and long-lasting business.
In McKnight’s own words, here are the principles to follow in order to build innovative companies:
“As our business grows, it becomes increasingly necessary to delegate responsibility and to encourage men and women to exercise their initiative. This requires considerable tolerance. Those men and women, to whom we delegate authority and responsibility, if they are good people, are going to want to do their jobs in their own way.
“Mistakes will be made. But if a person is essentially right, the mistakes he or she makes are not as serious in the long run as the mistakes management will make if it undertakes to tell those in authority exactly how they must do their jobs.
“Management that is destructively critical when mistakes are made kills initiative. And it’s essential that we have many people with initiative if we are to continue to grow.”
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