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Testing a product on the public can help move it along or ensure bad products come to a halt, said General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening.

"We've put a lot of mechanisms in place to help us fail fast," said Harmening.

He spoke with host Kerri Miller on Monday, Oct. 8, as part of a 

 conference for members of the food and agriculture business. They spoke about the importance of fostering a creative environment. 

General Mills has a process called "consumer first design." Teams come up with an idea and then attempt to sell it in a store. Usually they fail, but that speeds up the innovation process. Everyone from Harmening to the employees producing the products learn quickly what works and what doesn't. This process produced "Oui," a French-style Yoplait yogurt that comes in a glass container and is made one cup at a time.

Harmening also talked about his leadership style, the difficulties fostering innovation in a large corporation, and General Mills' climate change action plans. 

Use the audio player above to listen to more of their conversation. 

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast

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Kerri Miller

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Manda Lillie

Jeff Harmening sat down with host Kerri Miller to talk about innovation, leadership, and climate change.

General Mills CEO: 'Perfection is not the goal'

A box of General Mills cereal sits on the shelf at Santa Venetia Market.

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