Why I Failed by Punj Shweta

Leaders fail sometimes.  Maybe that is what makes them great leaders at some point. They have it in them to fail, acknowledge the failure and move on from there to achieve success and more. Shweta Punj, the associate editor at Business Today explores the failure stories of leaders and how they emerged winners from them in her debut book,  “Why I Failed: Lessons from Leaders”.

The book looks at sixteen leaders from various fields and brings out their lessons to readers. Their stories are personal and full of life changing decisions. For instance, how Subhash Ghai stuck to his guns despite every failure and made it big because of his perseverance. There are many such in this book. What works for the book is the simplicity of language.

The book reaches out to a wider audience – mainly because of the leaders featured in it. Shweta has covered almost every profession – from film-making to fashion and that’s what sets this book apart from any other book of the same type.
At the end of every leader’s story, there is a quick recap on “Why I Failed” and the advice from him or her. This is what truly defines the book as inspirational and yet not sentimental.

Most people look at failure as a flaw. There isn’t anyone who has looked into the positives of experiencing failure. Failure has made many people lose interest in going forward with things they might have been good at had they given it a shot.

Summary of the Book

Failure has always been a word that has had a crippling effect on people. In this book, some of the biggest leaders of today have come forward to tell us about instances where they have failed and how they used it to their advantage to turn their lives around with a little bit of change. It gives the reader the courage to face failure and not look back when one is facing it. Failure is an experience from which we can learn and move forward with. It teaches us that there might be something wrong in the way we are doing something. There is nothing wrong with accepting defeat and learning from it to better our lives.

About the Author

Swetha Punj is a Business Editor with Business Today magazine. She is a senior business journalist, television host and social entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of the research think tank The Whypoll Foundation.