While very few people start enormous companies or discover lifesaving medical cures we all
make mistakes. Yet there are lots of books about successful entrepreneurs massive failures
and compelling scientific discoveries and no book that helps us understand how our
personalities drive mistakes and how mistakes shape our lives. Longtime friends Michael Lynton
and Joshua L. Steiner made mistakes that shaped their careers and lives but it wasn' t
until the isolation of the pandemic that they began to open up to each other about them. When
Lynton was the CEO of Sony Entertainment he greenlit the film that led to the infamous North
Korean hack meanwhile a private diary Steiner had kept as Chief of Staff at the Treasury
Department became a focal point in the Clinton Whitewater scandal. As their conversation
deepened they searched for a book to guide their exploration they came up empty. So they set
out to write one themselves. Through a revealing examination of their own stories and candid
interviews with influential figures such as Larry Summers Joanna Coles and Malcolm Gladwell
along with people from all walks of life the authors unveil the hidden dimensions of mistakes
and the universal struggle to move beyond them. Working with Alison Papadakis Director of
Clinical Psychological Studies at Johns Hopkins they ground their observations in relevant
research and unpack the difference between failures and mistakes the stages of mistakes and
how it' s possible to break the patterns that lead to misunderstandings and shame. From
Mistakes to Meaning is an essential and fascinating read combining compelling narrative and
actionable advice showing that mistakes can be used as portals for personal growth instead of
lifelong burdens.
