Believe and Act as if it Were Impossible to Fail: Charles F. Kettering’s Philosophy of Possibility
Charles Franklin Kettering (1876–1958) was an American engineer, inventor, and industrialist whose name has largely faded from popular memory despite his profound impact on modern life. Born in Loudonville, Ohio, Kettering rose from humble farming stock to become one of the most prolific inventors of the twentieth century, holding over 140 patents and serving as the head of research at General Motors for decades. His quote, “Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail,” encapsulates a philosophy that guided not only his personal achievements but also shaped the culture of innovation at some of America’s largest corporations. The statement likely emerged during his tenure at GM in the 1920s and 1930s, a period when automotive technology was advancing at a breathtaking pace and Kettering’s laboratories were incubators for revolutionary ideas that would transform transportation forever.
Kettering’s path to prominence was unconventional for his era. After earning a degree in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University in 1904, he initially worked for the National Cash Register Company (NCR) in Dayton, Ohio, where he developed the electric cash register. This early success taught him a crucial lesson that would define his career: problems were not obstacles but opportunities waiting for creative solutions. His work at NCR caught the attention of automobile pioneers, and in 1909, he co-founded Delco (Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company) with Edward Deeds. The company’s most famous invention was the electric starter motor for automobiles, which replaced the dangerous hand-crank starting method that had plagued early motorists. This single innovation transformed the automobile from a novelty for the wealthy and mechanically skilled into a practical vehicle for the masses, including women and the elderly who had previously been unable to operate cars safely.
When William Durant, the founder of General Motors, acquired Delco in 1920, he brought Kettering into the GM fold as the director of research. This appointment proved to be one of the most consequential hiring decisions in American industrial history. Over the next three decades, Kettering built GM’s research division into a powerhouse of innovation, overseeing the development of high-octane gasoline, quick-drying paint, air conditioning, power steering, and the V-8 engine, among countless other breakthroughs. His philosophy was radically different from the prevailing engineering orthodoxy of the time. While most engineers asked “How do we improve what we already have?”, Kettering asked “What is the problem we’re really trying to solve?” This distinction led his team to reimagine entire categories of automotive technology from first principles, rather than tinkering at the margins of existing designs.
A lesser-known aspect of Kettering’s character was his refusal to allow failure to be anything other than a learning opportunity. He explicitly rejected the notion that failure was shameful or career-limiting, instead treating it as an essential part of the creative process. In his private notes and public statements, he famously said that the first attempts at most things are failures, and he encouraged his researchers to view setbacks as data points rather than defeats. This attitude was genuinely revolutionary in an era when corporate hierarchies were rigid and mistakes could end careers. Kettering created an atmosphere where engineers and scientists felt safe taking risks, experimenting with unconventional approaches, and pursuing ideas that seemed impractical or even impossible. He understood intuitively what modern psychology would later confirm: that fear of failure is one of the greatest obstacles to human achievement, and that reframing failure as feedback rather than judgment could unleash extraordinary creativity.
The context in which Kettering developed and promoted this philosophy was crucial. The 1920s and 1930s, despite economic turbulence including the Great Depression, were a period of intense technological competition in the automotive industry. Companies were racing not just to improve existing technologies but to leapfrog competitors with entirely new innovations. Kettering’s belief that impossible things could be accomplished if one approached them with the right mindset provided both a strategic advantage and a source of motivation for his teams. His laboratories in Detroit became legendary in American industry for their productivity and the caliber of innovations they produced. The quote itself, with its imperative to “believe and act as if it were impossible to fail,” was not merely motivational rhetoric—it was a practical methodology that Kettering applied to organizational management and scientific problem-solving.
Kettering’s philosophy extended beyond the technical realm into broader statements about human nature and potential. He was a prolific writer and public speaker, and his essays and speeches consistently emphasized the importance of imagination, the necessity of optimism, and the transformative power of refusing to accept limitations. He wrote extensively about the relationship between belief and achievement, arguing that what people believed about themselves and their capabilities fundamentally shaped what they could accomplish. This was not naive optimism or wishful thinking; rather, it was a sophisticated understanding that psychological disposition, confidence, and framing directly influenced persistence, creativity, and ultimately success. When Kettering spoke about believing something was possible and then acting accordingly, he was describing a psychological and behavioral feedback loop where confidence led to sustained effort, which led to breakthrough insights, which validated the original confidence.
The cultural impact of Kettering’s philosophy has been substantial, though often unattributed. His ideas permeate modern management theory, particularly in Silicon Valley’s startup culture and in contemporary discussions about innovation and entrepreneurship. The language of “failing forward,” “embracing failure,” and “rapid iteration”