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Reviews

… a very readable and witty meditation on winning and losing

Miami Herald

… a fascinating little book, one that can provide encouragement to people facing setbacks

Dallas Morning News

… a good antidote to the "win at all costs" school of management.

Harvard Business Online

… well-written, philosophical

Entrepreneur.com

… the authors deconstruct how we think about success and failure and propose a counterintuitive approach that acknowledges that both coexist in any given situation. They explain why we should de-stigmatize and embrace failure as a prerequisite for success and a natural byproduct of the risk-taking and innovation it takes to succeed in business.

THE BUSINESS READER REVIEW

Recognizing obstacles is essential to victory, Farson and Keyes contend, and despite their book's brevity, they demonstrate concrete ways to do so.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

In this extended essay, the authors deconstruct how we think about success and failure and propose a counterintuitive approach that acknowledges that both coexist in any given situation. They explain why we should de-stigmatize and embrace failure as a prerequisite for success and a natural byproduct of the risk-taking and innovation it takes to succeed in business.

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH

How can you make companies, and the people who work inside them, more adventurous? The authors offer an intriguing and paradoxical solution: In order to stop demonizing failure, we need to stop deifying success. "Stressing winning inhibits daring. Those who take genuine risks know that failure is the norm, success the exception," they write.

CIO INSIGHT

While slim, their book … make[s] a compelling case for "managing in the postfailure era" by supporting the type of traditionally discouraged behavior that resulted in breakthrough creativity

Contrarian food for thought.

 Self Improvement and Personal Growth Weekly Newsletter

The theme of this short and interesting book is that the less we scurry after success and run from failure, the more likely we are to succeed. For success, failures must be tolerated. In short chapters and sections, the authors drive their lessons home, using stories and well-written text. The book gives some good insights and makes a number of on-the-mark points. Enjoyable reading from start to finish. 

Stern & Associates (HR Consulting)

This book relates business innovation to paradox. It explores the fallacy of labeling events as success or failure. Sample practical suggestion: Retain unorthodox, difficult, imaginative employees because innovation depends on their creativity.

PLAY FOR PERFORMANCE

Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins by Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes is unique. It is a business book that makes its case with charm.

Marilyn’s “Must” Reads (Machlowitz Consultants, Inc.)

The Innovation Paradox: The Success of Failure, the Failure of Success (Free Press, $11) is the paperback edition of last year's more boldly titled hardback, Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins: The Paradox of Innovation. The new title seems to reflect a slight retrenchment on the main theme, since it downplays the need to make more mistakes than your rivals. One can only presume the publisher wants this book to succeed, despite its embrace of failure; hence, the new title. In any event, Farson and Keyes offer to teach you how to be more failure-tolerant and risk-friendly, "and therefore more innovative."

FORBES.COM