May 29, 2008: 11:41 AM EDT
The liberating
effect of failure
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/29/news/newsmakers/sellers_failure.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008052911
Failure is the
crucible that makes a leader into a hero, says Yale's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld.
By Patricia Sellers,
editor-at-large
NEW YORK(Fortune) -- Jeffrey Sonnenfeld knows failure.
A professor at the Yale School of Management and founder of the non-profit
Chief Executive Leadership Institute, Sonnenfeld has risen to leadership-guru
status by becoming the expert on how CEOs stumble and bounce back. He first
explored failure 20 years ago in his book "The Hero's Farewell: What
Happens When CEOs Retire." Sonnenfeld's latest, "Firing Back: How
Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters," hits the topic head on.
Fortune editor at large Patricia Sellers talked with Sonnenfeld about what he
has learned studying failure. An edited version of their conversation:
What got you interested in failure?
I was up at Harvard teaching a career
management course. One of the assignments was a 30- to 60-page paper on
students' own lessons in their lives. The students kept volunteering awful
things that happened to them - abuse by a teacher or a crisis during a stint in
the Peace Corps where someone close to them died. These were young adults with
leadership potential.
And the field of failure was ripe for
discovery by someone like you?
Most of the leading literature was and is
obsessed with success. From Poor Richard's Almanac to Norman Vincent Peale's
Power of Positive Thinking, which says that the locus of control is with you.
Yes, that's nice. Deepak Chopra and Stephen Covey talk about mastering your
destiny. Today's self-help literature and prevailing psychologists stress
avoidant behavior - like Scarlett O'Hara saying "Tomorrow is another
day."
What's wrong with that?
They emphasize strategies for coping rather
than strategies for obliterating the source of the stress.
Does failure - or beating back failure -
make you a better person?
It makes a hero. Joseph Campbell wrote about
this. The hero has certain consistent qualities in every culture: a common
touch, a call to greatness, a critical trial and a setback. Failure punctuates
truly great leaders. They aren't great until they've failed. Failure is the
crucible, the test. They deal with it, and their confidence and capabilities
are enhanced.
How does this work in business?
[Home Depot (HD, Fortune
500) founders] Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank wore failure as a badge of
honor. They taught their employees about managing disappointment. There would
be no Vanguard if Jack Bogle hadn't been fired from Wellington Management. And
Jamie Dimon, after he was fired at Citigroup (C, Fortune
500), had the courage to run Bank One and now JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune
500) his way. He now has the cleanest balance sheet on Wall Street. Failure
empowers leaders to do things differently. It gives them courage to be
independent thinkers.
What lessons have you learned about failure?
First, fight, not flight. You have to face
up to battle. Second, recruit others in battle. Use networks effectively.
Third, rebuild your reputation.
Easier said than done.
If you did nothing wrong, you have to stand
up for exoneration. If you did something wrong, you have to go straight for
contrition. Prominent people tend to avoid that. Many people believe that
contrition weakens them. [Xerox (XRX, Fortune
500) CEO] Anne Mulcahy blows me away. She talks about setbacks in a way
that only makes her stronger.
What else do successful rebounders do?
They create a new purpose. Many people think
that prominent people rebound because they're wealthy and have access to
resources and great connections - or luck. No, it's the conscious choices they
make.
Who rebounded by crafting a new purpose?
Martha Stewart. She saw the frothing glee of
people who wanted to bring her down, and rather than be frightened and
chastened by that glee, it only motivated her more. She focused on defining
herself by her future, her comeback.
What's the No. 1 reason business bigwigs
fail to deal with failure properly?
They're afraid of looking weak. Everyone can
learn from [JetBlue (JBLU)
founder] David Neeleman, who has had the rug pulled out from under him a few
times. He has the confidence to ask questions about how to do things
differently. And he knows that if he's going to be a maverick, failure is going
to be a cost. He's comfortable talking about his setbacks and he's proud of his
Protean-like resilience.
Your parting wisdom, Jeff?
People who fail should feel liberated.
They've already failed. Get over it!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
