The Executive Hallway of Failed Projects

When you walk down the halls of your company, what do you see? Awards? Community projects/pictures? Sponsorships of sporting events or local schools? Examples of your company's products?

When was the last time you saw the failures? The products that bombed? The projects that went horribly wrong? Executives that left disgraced?

This week's parsha, named after the protagonist, Korach, we see that commemorating the bad times can instill better actions in the future. 17:2-3 says:

2. Say to Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen that he should pick up the censers from the burned area (but throw the fire away), because they have become sanctified,		ב. אֱמֹר אֶל אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן וְיָרֵם אֶת הַמַּחְתֹּת מִבֵּין הַשְּׂרֵפָה וְאֶת הָאֵשׁ זְרֵה הָלְאָה כִּי קָדֵשׁוּ:
3. the censers of these who sinned at the cost of their lives, and they shall make them into flattened out plates as an overlay for the altar, for they brought them before the Lord, and have [therefore] become sanctified, and they shall be as a reminder for the children of Israel.		ג. אֵת מַחְתּוֹת הַחַטָּאִים הָאֵלֶּה בְּנַפְשֹׁתָם וְעָשׂוּ אֹתָם רִקֻּעֵי פַחִים צִפּוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ כִּי הִקְרִיבֻם לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וַיִּקְדָּשׁוּ וְיִהְיוּ לְאוֹת לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

With Korach and his followers out of the way, the only thing remaining from them, they were swallowed up by the Earth after all, was their censers. Turning these items into sanctified items for future generations to see and think about is a priceless memory.

America and some other countries do not want to revel in the past but move towards a future that plows over the past. As a religion, the Jewish people have numerous items that remind us of our past continuously because man is known to not care so much to remember the past. By reminding us of the dark days or people we strive to reach above and beyond.

As George Santayana said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

Where do you keep your failed project hallway?

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Parsha Korach in the book of Bamidbar, Numbers 16:1-18:32
It is said that the Torah or Bible could be interpreted in over 70 ways. More likely these days 100's of ways. In light of this idea, I am writing some posts that bring a business sense to what we can learn on a weekly basis. Enjoy, Shabbat Shalom