When Smart People Fail: Rebuilding Yourself for Success [Paperback]

Carole Hyatt (Author), Linda Gottlieb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1993

Offering sound advice on everything from grappling with the money issue to taking the first step toward a new career, this reassuring, practical guide tells how to bounce back from career failure and seize the day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hyatt (The Women's Selling Game and Gottlieb (Limbo here explore the effects of failure on people in success-oriented America. Interviewing men and women in various fields, they glean interesting information from those who accepted defeat only temporarily. Exemplifying "hidden failures," Clare Boothe Luce regrets that she abandoned her real interest, writing, for political roles; conversely George McGovern considers himself the winner over Richard Nixon, who defeated him for the presidency. Among those who offer advice on starting over is William L. Shirer: fired from his job as a reporter for being "too liberal," he went on to write such notable books as The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Shirer makes the cogent observation that success or failure aren't at issue but "whether you are a learner or non-learner."
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books; Revised edition (May 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140178112
• ISBN-13: 978-0140178111
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,031,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for the Embattled Entrepreneur, September 15, 2002

By 

Gregory McMahan (Tottori, Japan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: When Smart People Fail: Rebuilding Yourself for Success (Paperback)

Failure among the ambitious, upwardly mobile, educated and intelligent of our modern, industrialized society often comes across as being more devastating, more defining, and more frightening than it actually is. What in actuality defines us is not the number of our failures, but how we deal with our failure, how we look upon it, and most importantly, how we either use our failure or allow our failures to define us.

Hyatt and Gottlieb have written an excellent text on professional/career failure. The authors start the book by imparting intrepid examples both personal and private, of the emotional processes associated with failure. They accurately describe (often in painful and excruciating detail) the feelings of fear, isolation, shame and remorse associated with losing a job, status, money or some combination of the three. One can not only relate to the loss of purpose, the punctured egos, and the declining sense of self of those who have failed professionally, but also can actually feel as if it is happening to him or her- for it at some point has happened to him or her. They emphatically stress that career failure is something that eventually touches every professional, in some cases sooner, and in others, later. In this way, they show that failure has no prejudices, and everyone is a card-carrying member of this club, whether they realize it or not. As such, in dealing with failure, it is extremely important for the individual to realize that he or she is not alone in the experience, even if our greater society compels us to put up a strong front and pretend that nothing is really wrong. In order to healthily deal with failure, the authors emphasize the importance of understanding the meaning of failure in both the personal and the societal context, and elaborate upon how the feelings associated with failure unfold in the individual. Many people define themselves based on their occupation, their professional affiliation, or their status in life, and it comes as no surprise that these are the people hardest hit by career failure. Those of us who have cultivated other sides of our personality, such as those of us who live for our weekend hobbies, or those of us that are family or community oriented, tend to handle career failure much better, and can even take it in stride. Although many readers and those who have experienced failure or are currently experiencing failure may not believe it, failure actually gives people options, which the authors not only demonstrate, but also help the reader identify and ultimately take advantage of in later chapters.

In the first part of the book, one chapter each is devoted to defining the characteristics of failure at the level of the individual and the society, dealing with the feelings, which occur in stages, associated with failure, how our career failures can affect those closest to us, and how men and women respond to career failure. The second part of the book focuses on taking failure in stride, and offers a comprehensive strategy for personal reinvention after suffering a career failure. Arguably the most important part of the book, this section devotes one comprehensive chapter to each of the following topics: discovering why one has failed, gleaning from the failure some positive knowledge by re-interpreting the events leading up to the failure, recognizing and casting off old and inappropriate labels and finding new ones, expanding one's career choices, and making the transition from the old professional to the new, centered and focused individual. The authors also include in this section of the book a bonus chapter that showcases two successfully reinvented individuals, and elaborates upon the nature of their failure, how they dealt with failure, and the process of their reinvention. Each chapter in the second part of the book provides the reader with powerful tactics to build a new, improved person from career failure, and allows one to rise triumphantly out of the ashes of failure, much like the proverbial phoenix. The third and final part of the book, entitled `Towards Real Success', helps the reader to win the internal battle associated with failure. While the second part of the book helps to outwardly reinvent the individual for career success, the final section of the book helps the individual to cultivate a new perspective, a new outlook- on career failure. This part of the book encourages the reader to look upon failure as a learning experience, and as such, helps one to regard failure as a temporary setback that one can learn from.

The authors have written a truly empowering book, one that entrepreneurs and professionals must read and keep alongside all the other books on career and entrepreneurial success, as there inevitably will be one or more notable, spectacular and in some cases unfortunately public failures on the path to a successful career journey. In the end, I can only say that there is no shame in taking a risk, giving one's all, and failing, and I wholeheartedly believe that true shame results from failing to try, failing to risk, fearing change, and failing to grow. These, I truly believe, are the things that comprise the regrets in one's life.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving onward and upward after a setback, February 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: When Smart People Fail: Rebuilding Yourself for Success (Paperback)

I picked up this book after being let go from a F50 company late last year, and it has been a lifesaver as I've navigated unfamiliar territory. It lays out the stages most people experience when they've been fired, downsized, or eliminated -- shock, fear, anger & blame, shame, and despair. It addresses how failure changes the balance of power in a relationship, and how it affects men and women differently. It then moves to how we reinvent ourselves -- identifying the cause of failure, reinterpreting the event, relabeling yourself, and getting unstuck. There are numerous stories, including the authors' own, about failing and ultimately coming back better and stronger. One quote especially resonated with me: David Brown (he produced The Sting and Jaws, among other Hollywood blockbusters) was fired three times from top jobs. "Each time, [he] was stunned. And each time he never stopped to analyze what had caused him to be fired in the first place. Only after the third time did he begin to examine his working behavior. Why was he always running after corporate jobs...when in the end they held neither safety nor a degree of control over one's fate?" Whether you feel that corporate life is truly your calling, or you yearn for something different, this book can help you push past self-imposed limitations and re-invent your career in a unique and satisfying way.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So, You Lost?, April 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: When Smart People Fail: Rebuilding Yourself for Success (Paperback)

If you are having problems confronting a business defeat (whether you were fired, lost your business, or "failed" in your career), this is the book for you.

If your setback is affecting your health, your marriage, your friendships, there is hope.

If you have been moping around the house for a year or more, read this book.

If you've tried and tried to "move past" your personal problems, buy this book now.

If you have been searching for an answer, this is it.

Read this book.