Failure: The Secret to Success

by Robby Slaughter

Q: What do Michael Jordan, Coca-Cola, the Panama Canal, Warner Bros. and Ulysses S. Grant have in common? A: They were all miserable failures. We don't tend to remember famous people for their missteps or successful companies by their blunders. However, the colossal errors that have been made throughout history often light the way to amazing victories. Failure is the secret to success.

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Omar Halabieh · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Robby Slaughter, invites his readership to "throw away the old adage that Failure is not an option", and embrace "a new (positive) perspective" toward failure. He goes further to argue that we must explicitly grant ourselves the permission to fail, and that often times, the best way to become an expert and to set ourselves up for success is to intentionally set out doing the wrong things first. Robby goes on to describe different strategies to make this happen: make a mess, ignore popular wisdom, discard recommended approaches, complete tasks out of order, fail to follow the norm, tell white lies.
Following failure, the author points out a key difference between companies (or individuals) that fail and those that succeed after a failure and that has to do with the mindset. Robby reminds us that: "we must work with failure, not against it...The ultimate question will be whether or not failure is merely a pattern or a part of a larger perspective on success."
On a concluding note Robby states that: "The highest levels of achievement can only be pursued if we're willing to suffer through the mistakes and missteps needed to discover the path to success. Errors are the landmarks on the route to victory."...with a counterbalancing reminder from journalist Paul Brown: "...Even though we can understand the importance of failure, it's still hard to internalize embracing our mistakes."

Overall, a quick, enjoyable and inspiring read. If I had to critique the book, I would highlight the following areas for potential improvement: 1) the counterarguments where/when failure is catastrophic/non-recoverable 2) lessen repetition of stories used across chapters 3) enhance the structure of the chapters for better flow

[Lillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I didn't learn anything new, I enjoyed reading the inspirational stories of individuals and businesses who experienced major failures on the road to success. Readers who are younger and less experienced, especially those who fear failure, will probably learn valuable lessons that will pay off on their journey to success. I found the book repetitive, especially at the end of each chapter, where the information presented in the chapter is reviewed. Again, individuals for whom this is new information are likely to benefit from the repetition.

[Dave Jacques · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so inspiring. As an Agile coach, I see the need of failure in order to succeed. It is actually a fundation of agile. Lets not take a way of doing things for granted and adapt it in order to be more successful.
Thank you for such a nice book!

[Rhonda Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a ripoff! Tom Haverford on NBC's Parks & Rec wrote this book and became a public speaker in the series finale. Look it up: "Failure: An American Success Story"