The Wisdom of Failure

“Flawless Leadership: Learning the Lessons Without Paying the Price”

Kenneth Lay, the former chairman of Enron, and Jim Owens, the former CEO of Caterpillar, shared similar backgrounds: Both grew up in the same generation and with little money. Each labored hard, working numerous jobs while studying at state universities. Both earned PhDs in economics before becoming CEOs of top companies. However, the two had divergent leadership styles: Owens learned from failure, while Lay chose to ignore it. Lay’s career ended in disgrace.

Business leaders who do not fail are not taking enough risks. Yet failure bears a lasting stigma in the business world. While leaders can learn more from failure than from success, they will fall from grace if their constituencies perceive them as bombing too often. Leaders must learn two important skills: understanding what worked in the past and what did not, and determining why a mistake occurred so they do not repeat it.

“Seduced by Yes: Trying to Be All Things to All People”

Leaders who abandon their strategic direction and become greedy risk destroying their businesses; they fail in the area of “unbalanced orchestration.” ...