Say that headline out loud and it can be taken two ways.

The first is easy because we all fail to succeed in so many areas of our lives — in our relationships, work, goals or character. But the second meaning is more subtle.

In the vast majority of situations, serious setbacks along the way are crucial to the ultimate attainment of what we’re shooting for. In other words, we have to fail to succeed.

The best place to see that principle at work is the business world, and one of my favourite examples is the Kutol company. Since I wrote an entire column on this firm years ago, I’ll just hit the highlights.

Kutol made wallpaper cleaner, and it was highly profitable for many years. But in the early 1950s, natural gas began replacing coal as the main source of home heating. That meant cleaner air and no soot, so — before long — the writing was on the wall for Kutol.

Sales plummeted and things were dire.

But a nursery school teacher named Kay Zufall, who was related to the company’s owner, came up with what must’ve seemed like a crazy idea. She knew from her own experience that the non-toxic wallpaper cleaner was a big hit with kids who loved to play with it.

Desperate, the company ran with the idea, rebranded the product in 1956, and started a marketing campaign. Owner Joseph McVicker called the new toy Play-Doh.

Just two years after its launch, sales hit an........

© Sarnia Observer