Mistakes I Made at Work: 25 Influential Women Reflect on What They Got Out of Getting It Wrong

Jessica Bacal sets out to explore the truth of what she’s often heard: that making mistakes is an inevitable part of growing at work. She introduces each section of her book and the 25 women she interviews with her own hard-earned insights. Clearly, her honesty in revealing her own mistakes and fear of failure set the stage for open sharing from women as diverse as legal scholar Lani Guniere and best-selling author Cheryl Strayed: an inspiring group of entrepreneurs, activists, writers, and professors who become all the more admirable for their honest disclosures of their own mistakes, anxieties, and imperfections.The 25 separate stories, told in each woman’s voice, are as unique and diverse as the women interviewed, and are smoothly edited into engaging narratives by Bacal. But while each story is different, they all highlight the difficulties of balancing being true to yourself with being a good employee, boss, and/or team player.The book is also filled with concise tips and memorable quotes. One of my favorites comes from Strayed, who says that “the revision process is a great metaphor for how to approach life and love and work. We’re all rough drafts. If you’re living right, you’re constantly searching to make the next version of yourself one notch better.” This book helps us do just that by showing how our mistakes not only help us grow but also help us “embrace the imperfection of our humanity.” This is a comforting book of guidance to keep on your desk and give to others.

Good book about navigating one's path in life. As a resident at a large teaching hospital, I particularly related to the chapter by Danielle Ofri (a physician) relating to her experiences learning in residency and an earlier chapter on the politics of academia. The main take-home points of the book were to be courageous but in a thoughtful, organized way. One particular quote I liked described the pitfalls of getting "caught up in external signs of success...You don't necessarily take care of yourself in ways that lead to personal sustainability...at a certain point you crash and burn."Granted, this book is written by primarily writers, executives, founders of nonprofits, etc - but I do think that putting aside the superficial differences, there's a lot of great advice here. It's a book I'd recommend to my younger sister to read, as it's a modern manifesto on how to approach your career in a reasoned, mature way.

After a rough day at work, I was looking for a book that would lift me up a bit! The biggest message that I took from this book is that everyone makes mistakes; often people who are more experienced do not speak of their prior mistakes and this doesn't help to calm fears of those who are younger and who are going through this period.The stories are authentic/genuine and offered lessons after each one; I'm so grateful I read this book!

Mistakes I made at Work is a must-read. Not only is the author's voice (in the preview sections of each of the four parts) really accessible and down-to-earth, the essays themselves are priceless. They are easy to digest and end with "tips" which are great take-away messages. I book-marked and highlighted at least a third of the book for future reference, for myself and for the students that I mentor at my work.The book itself is a collection of essays by 25 really successful women. Part 1 is about telling your own story, Part 2 is about asking, Part 3 is about saying no, and Part 4 is about resilience. I loved part 3 and 4 the best. Part 1 was less relevant to me, but I see its value for those who are beginning their careers. Even so, every section of the book had some real gems by luminously amazing women like Cheryl Strayed, Danielle Ofri, Luma Mufleh, and my three personal absolute favorites (people I want to meet and have a long drink with and pick their brains forever): Carla Harris, Rinku Sen, and Shirley Malcom.If you've ever stepped on someone's toes, brokered a terrible deal, beleagueredly said yes when you really meant no, doubted yourself or career/educational choices, or did something that makes you want to hide under a rock for the rest of your career- then this is a book for you.

I purchased this book hoping to find out how various women performed damage control and recovered from professional messes they made at work, but I didn't find any examples in this book.For me, this book is more about women sharing their low level mistakes to let other women know that they are not alone when they make mistakes at work. I would be very interested to read the personal stories of women who messed up big at work and were demoted, fired, etc., and how they managed to recover and thrive in their profession. I understand that many of these women may be bound to confidentiality agreements and/or are unwilling to share the heavy stories that may harm their career, but I still want to know so that I may avoid these issues.

With every chapter of this book I thought of another 3 or 4 friends that HAD to read it. A hugely valuable resource for working women, whether starting your career (and looking for confidence to negotiate salary), searching for work that is your passion, balancing work and family (or embracing the disequilibrium), moving up the career ladder, or a myriad of other experiences. My path: state college, entry level jobs to moving up the ladder, starting my own small business and raising my family in a medium-sized town... all very middle class – is different from these women: Harvard, Wall Street, fame and fortune. However, although I'm not in the same echelon, I have had many of the same experiences and made some of the same mistakes. Their resolutions, and perspectives helped me reconcile my own path, and inspire me to continue to grow. I could have saved myself some stress and tears in my younger working years, if I'd had this book. Even so, it's brought some peace at this stage of my work life. There is just something in it for every woman at every stage. Highly recommend this book! I think it would be great for book clubs too. Lots to discuss.

J’ai adoré et je le relis parfois pour me faire du bien! Transparent et plein d’apprentissages.

Muy buen libro lleno de consejos interesantes! Sin embargo no creo que exponga casos muy complejos o dirigidos a un público senior. Creo que es ideal para personas que comienzan su carrera profesional, no lo recomiendo para alguien que busque un diálogo elevado.

This book is so insightful to women at work. Especially interesting in an age of women empowerment, these women reflect on their work life in the past. Very interesting for a 22yr old who is just starting out. Great read. Grab a pen and underline the parts that mean something to you!

I've bought this book and I have almost finished reading it . I bookmarked so many paragraphs because I could relate to some of those stories.This book applies to many people since it deals with women from different paths in life ( race, industry, age ... )Buy it and you won't regret it !!

Scared to try something new because you might look incompetent - this is a common feeling. Reassuring to hear about big mistakes and challenges that are not career ending.