Make Failure Work for You

“We’ve seen ‘how-to’ business books for years. This book provides the rest of the story. It’s the ‘how-not-to’ business book—with stories every bit as compelling and no less important in ensuring success of any leader.”

—From Chapter One
There is a paradox in leadership: we can only succeed by knowing failure. Every accomplished leader knows there are minefields of failures that need to be navigated in order to succeed. Unfortunately at a certain level, learning from failure is not an option. Wouldn’t it be great to have the insights to help you prevent avoidable mistakes? Yet, in business talking about mistakes can be taboo.

In The Wisdom of Failure, Laurence Weinzimmer and Jim McConoughey speak frankly about the things that are difficult to talk about: the unvarnished truths necessary to become a successful leader. Based on a groundbreaking 7-year study of almost 1,000 managers across 21 industries and exclusive interviews with CEOs at a wide range of organizations including Intel, Caterpillar, and Priceline.com , the authors uncover the three most damning leadership mistakes:

• Unbalanced orchestration—leadership failures at the organizational level

• Drama Management—leadership failures at the team level

• Personality Issues—leadership failures at the personal level

The authors share real-world stories of mistakes leaders have made or avoided and offer practical strategies to help you identify and proactively prevent the potential for failure.

Learning from the mistakes of others is an invaluable part of the journey of effective leadership. Weinzimmer and McConoughey offer an indispensable guide to learning these powerful lessons—without paying the price of failure.