This story was originally published by Knowable Magazine.

I would like to share with you a tale from the real world.

Many consider 2017 the “worst year ever” for data breaches and cyber attacks, largely due to the rise in ransomware, and IT experts predict it’s only going to get worse.

We raise the corrective and preventive action (CAPA) topic often because it is still something that companies tend to struggle with and find themselves in hot water over, particularly when it comes to regulatory audits or inspections.

In ancient times, the story goes, cooks in the city of Sybaris were granted yearlong monopolies for the sale of unique dishes they created. Since then, generations of inventors have relied on patents to discourage copycats from stealing their best ideas.

Manufacturing is in the middle of a new industrial revolution that requires skilled laborers.

Cogeco’s technical distribution center in Burlington, Ontario, is one of Canada’s drop-off points for internet modem and cable device repair. In 2011, the company’s management carried out a kaizen blitz to improve the efficiency of its device repair process.

On a recent morning, Rick Lake stopped in the middle of giving a tour of NIST’s machine shop to ponder a part sitting on a shelf. It was about 25 cm long and made of metal coated in a sheen of purple and blue.

Business partnerships are nothing new. Partnerships that result in leaner manufacturing processes, more consistent quality, and lower manufacturing costs—that is worth talking about.

Making mistakes and learning from them is par for the course for companies. But years of bad decisions could lead to the downfall of conglomerates.