Entrepreneurs must continue taking meaningful risks—that will sometimes end in failure—in order for society to both advance and solve some of the world’s biggest problems. The beauty of capitalism is that it fosters experimentation through trial and error because, in many cases, it’s impossible to predict consumers’ desires.

Being able to take risks and having the freedom to try out wild ideas is the only process that leads to successful innovation. The Museum of Failure in Washington, D.C., highlights that essential phenomenon by displaying many commercial flops—some of which were before their time while others were just a blip in some companies’ otherwise very successful product lines.

[Presumably, New Coke will not get featured in this lesson, but it does include the Soundburger. I’d never heard of that, but it’s almost designed for failure. — Ed]