INNOVATION STRATEGY: Mark Zuckerberg pulls Jeff Bezos with Libra

Mark Zuckerberg just took a page out of Jeff Bezos & # 39; book on innovation and management.

Facebook announced that it would release its own cryptocurrency, Libra, to provide cheap, accessible financial services to those without bank accounts. Facebook hopes to receive more advertising revenue from companies that sell goods to customers who use the currency.

If successful, the company's bold steps into the financial sector can create the world's banking system. It may prove particularly valuable for "unbanked" people in developing countries, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said how much of Facebook's growth as a platform already exists.

However, Cryptocurrency is notoriously risky. Goldman Sachs was thinking of opening a trading table for cryptographic baskets, but ultimately supported by close-by schedules.

For Facebook, a tech giant who was abused in scandal by the scandal in recent years, the journey to a whole new industry is taking a risk that can cost the company well if it fails. However, Jeff Bezos would say that is exactly what the best companies should do.

Read more: Leadership experts say Jeff Bezos comfort with failure should be a model for all leaders

Bezos has launched bold, risky innovations several times on Amazon. For example, the e-commerce giant tried to transfer the smartphone's throne by publishing the Amazon Fire phone in 2014. Unfortunately for Bezos, the phone was killed just one year, and the company lost $ 170 million.

But these great games have also proved to be transformative. Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud computing platform, was launched in 2006. It provided over $ 25 billion in 2018, delivering most of its operating revenues. Amazon Prime Video and Alexa are other innovations that may seem obvious with review but were not without risk when launched.

"While the fire phone was a failure, Bezos wrote in his annual shareholder letter this year" we were able to take our teachings (as well as the developers) and accelerate our efforts to build Echo and Alexa. "

Embracing" blind alleys "

Bezos describes trying new things like going down" dead-end ". When ideas fail, you get to a dead end off the ground. crept into a "big, wide avenue."

Amazon's culture of constantly trying new things – even if it involves failure or end-of-life – is at odds with companies that focus on what their competitors are doing. much attention to competitors, disregards what customers want, according to Bezos.