WHEN SMART PEOPLE FAIL

by Carole & Linda Gottlieb Hyatt ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 13, 1987

A self-help guide to how to turn failure into a positive tool for future success. Hyatt, author of The Women's Selling Game, and Gottlieb, coauthor of Limbo. combine lo explore what they call the ""last taboo"" in our success-oriented society--the fear of failure. The most important lesson, they say, is that ""success and failure are not polar opposites: they are parts of a continuum. One can lead to the other with great ease. Neither is likely to be permanent. The irony is we believe both will last forever."" The authors try lo take away the sting of ""failure"" by defining it as a judgment about an event. Ultimately, ""it is the way we cope with failure that shapes you. not the failure itself."" Hyatt and Gottlieb find, too, that attitudes toward failure depend upon who is doing the failing. In general, they write, ""a woman's success is more disruptive to the relationship than her failure, and a man's failure is more disruptive than his success."" The authors also take a swipe at the Vince Lombardi mentality: ""if winning is the only thing, then if you've lost, you've lost everything."" What, then, is to be gained from failure? The authors suggest that the main question is whether one is a learner or a non-learner. Obviously, the proper stance toward failure is to use it to learn compassion, humility, a new attitude toward risk, reordered priorities, and a sense of power.

Pub Date: April 13, 1987

ISBN: 1439156883

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION