From Mistakes to Meaning

‘Anyone who fails to see how great this subject is will wind up being a chapter in the sequel. And to have two people who actually screwed up in the most charming and interesting and famous ways to write it? That’s gold.’ * Michael Lewis *‘Everyone makes mistakes. The best leaders, as Lynton and Steiner powerfully show, learn from them. This book is for anyone in business and government who wants to understand how to turn blunders into breakthroughs.’ * Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies *‘One of the most important things in life is to learn from our mistakes, but most of us don’t have the tools or the honesty - or the guts - to truly do so. Michael and Josh, in this fascinating book, were willing to be brutally candid about big mistakes they made, and that helped them realize how the steps that led them astray were rooted in hidden aspects of their personalities. Then they lead a colorful cast of fellow mistake-makers to do likewise. With this eye-opening book, you can make the same journey. You’ll be glad you did.’ * Walter Isaacson *‘To err is human; to learn from those mistakes can take divine intervention. In incredibly compelling prose, Michael and Josh discuss the most significant (and sometimes dramatic) mistakes of their professional and personal lives and the blunders of diverse people they interviewed - from Larry Summers to Malcom Gladwell. Michael and Josh articulate the emotional value of finally revealing these errors and a framework for developing insight and moving on from these regrets. As someone who held a leadership position in an Ivy League university, I only wish I had had the opportunity to read this wonderful book in the context of my own not insignificant errors. I now want to organize an entire course in psychology around it!’ * Peter Salovey, PhD, President Emeritus, Sterling Professor of Psychology, Yale University *

Michael Lynton has spent his career in the media and entertainment business, working in publishing, film, television, and music. He is the former CEO of Sony Entertainment and now serves on the boards of the RAND Corporation and The Smithsonian. Lynton grew up in The Netherlands and received a BA from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in New York City, is married, and has three children.

Joshua L. Steiner has worked in government, finance, and the non-profit sector. After serving as chief of staff at the US Department of the Treasury, he became a banker at Lazard before cofounding two investment firms and serving as an executive at Bloomberg LP. He grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and attended Yale University, where he studied history and played lacrosse, before earning an MSt in modern history from Oxford. Steiner serves on the boards of Yale University, the International Rescue Committee, and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. He lives in New York City, is married, and has three children.