All of us have made mistakes. Both authors have made headline making mistakes. The mistakes were difficult to live with to the extent they didn't want to talk to anybody about them. But they were friends and eventually opened up to one another and became obsessed with trying to understand why the mistakes were made and how they could put themselves back in place.
Michael Lynton worked up to be the CEO of Sony Entertainment. He was more of a numbers guy and together with other decision makers got together to decide whether or not to give the green light to "The Interview," a comedy involving an assassination of the North Korean dictator. We learn later that a lot of thought had been given to the matter and there was a lot of enthusiasm from the creative team including some queries into likely North Korean reaction. Michael later admits that he got caught up in the momentum and gave the final ok. He also confesses that he felt as an outsider to the creative process.
North Korea was not ok. They were able to hack Sony's computer system and reveal many embarrassing emails. Many relationships were disrupted as celebrity actors had been criticized by executives.
Joshua L. Steiner worked his way up to be the chief of staff at the American Treasury Department in Washington. He had decided to keep a private diary to keep track of the many events in his department. Ironically he was not involved at all with the events under Bill Clinton's administration in Arkansas, but nonetheless Republicans were able to use parts of his diary to embarrass the Clintons as well as revealing personal information. Why did he feel the need for a private diary and why wasn't he more circumspect about the contents? And why did he reveal (to the wrong people) that he even had such a diary? The Whitewater scandal hit national headlines with Joshua's diary playing a role.
After the two men went through a catharsis they decided to explore the issue of making mistakes by talking to experts and to friends, many of whom were celebrities. But everyone makes mistakes that makes them feel regret. In the long run people regret not so much what they did as what they didn't do. For another relevant perspective on regret, courtesy of Daniel Pink see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/06/the-power-of-regret.htm
Malcolm Gladwell, well known for his perceptive books had a surprising regret. He had been a runner in high school and won many races, however after a period of losing some races he quit totally. Finally in his early fifties he started running again as it was one of the things he was good at. see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2026/02/blink.html
The decision to have babies is fraught with difficulty. For women it often means a diversion from a career or some other plan. There are time constraints that make the decision more difficult. For many, even those successful at a career, regret they didn't have more children.
Because of Michael's entertainment connections you might be interested in his insights, especially regarding, especially Seth Rogan and Brad Pitt. David Frankel, a successful director wanted to do "The Big Year" about bird watchers, but the studio wanted him to do "Moneyball" with Brad Pitt. He had written an early version, but Pitt didn't like it and another writer, Steve Zallian was asked to write another version that suited Brad Pitt more. Still the studio wanted David to do the directing, but Brad Pitt said no as he had been offended ty David's vision. "The Big Year" cost $45 million to produce and only earned $8 million. On the other hand, "Moneyball" cost $50 million to produce and grossed $110 million.
What did they learn? What did they conclude? Mistakes are part of life and you needn't let them stop you from moving on. You will do better to understand the root causes of your mistake. They provide some formulas, but I would like to end with some quotes from the book.
Seneca said "we suffer more in imagination than in reality."
Groucho Marx, "Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret."
Jonathan Haidt, "The mind is divided like a rider on an elephant and the rider's job is to serve the elephant." Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/06/the-anxious-generation.html
Barnard Baruch "I have known men who could see through the motivations of others with the skill of a clairvoyant, only to prove blind to their own mistakes. I have been one of those men."
After analyzing, maybe apologizing we need to move on. Everyone makes mistakes.
Another blog on mistakes came about for book by Terry O'Reilly: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/06/my-best-mistake.html
No comments:
Post a Comment