How Leaders Learn

Chapter 5

Viral Videos, Syringes, and Rats

Learn from crises

The last thing I ever wanted to be is a CSE—a crisis survival expert. But I am one, and I earned the title the hard way. If I shared every crisis I’ve faced and what I learned from it here, there wouldn’t be room in the book for anything else.

Crises are a fact of leadership and life. They show up just when we think we’ve hit smooth sailing or when we think we can’t possibly handle one more thing. Still, active learners use them to improve, no matter the context. In fact, I’d argue there’s more to mine in a crisis or failure than in a success (although there’s plenty to learn from winning, too, which is why I wrote the next chapter). Some of my most powerful insights have come during ...