Over a year ago, a friend of mine was associated with an event company that specialized in wedding planning and bridal showcases. She raved about the lady who ran the company and how talented she was at what she did. People loved the events that the company put on, and they were wildly successful. The showcases were held in nice hotels and banquet halls, not like some of the “events” that are held at the local HoJo’s, so everything seemed great. I was offered a chance advertise at one of the biggest planned events, and at reasonable rates, so I did. What happened leading up to the supposed event threw everything completely of course…

Innovation cannot occur without some tolerance for failure. Any company which wants to expand needs to develop a culture which fosters innovation – this means learning from failure rather than dismissing mistakes as a consequence of desperate times. However, the recession does need to be considered when a business makes a decision. A mistake in the current economic climate could be fatal. For examination purposes, here are five examples of major companies making errors in judgement. Whilst comforting for the smaller businesses, their misfortune can also provide an example of how to garner vital knowledge from them.