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Permission to Screw Up cover art

Permission to Screw Up

By: Kristen Hadeed, Simon Sinek - foreword
Narrated by: Kristen Hadeed
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Summary

The inspiring, unlikely, laugh-out-loud story of how one woman learned to lead - and how she ultimately succeeded, not despite her many mistakes but because of them.

This is the story of how Kristen Hadeed built Student Maid, a cleaning company where people are happy, loyal, productive, and empowered, even while they're mopping floors and scrubbing toilets. It's the story of how she went from being an almost comically inept leader to a sought-after CEO who teaches others how to lead.

Hadeed unintentionally launched Student Maid while attending college 10 years ago. Since then, Student Maid has employed hundreds of students and is widely recognized for its industry-leading retention rate and its culture of trust and accountability. But Kristen and her company were no overnight sensation. In fact they were almost nothing at all.

Along the way Kristen got it wrong almost as often as she got it right. Giving out hugs instead of feedback, fixing errors instead of enforcing accountability, and hosting parties instead of cultivating meaningful relationships were just a few of her many mistakes. But Kristen's willingness to admit and learn from those mistakes helped her give her people the chance to learn from their own screwups too.

Permission to Screw Up dismisses the idea that leaders and organizations should try to be perfect. It encourages people of all ages to go for it and learn to lead by acting rather than waiting or thinking. Through a brutally honest and often hilarious account of her own struggles, Kristen encourages us to embrace our failures and proves that we'll be better leaders when we do.

©2017 Kristen Hadeed (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A brave and generous book, the ideal antidote to the perfection and invulnerability we pretend are essential to succeed.” (Seth Godin, author of Linchpin and Tribes)

“If you’re looking for the sunshine and rainbows version of success, this isn’t the story for you. If you’re looking for the down-to-earth, nitty-gritty, honest journey of a leader, proceed to chapter one.” (Susan Cain, author of Quiet

Permission to Screw Up pulls back the curtains and reveals what it’s really like to be a leader - a must-read for anyone who wants to start a company. Kristen isn’t afraid to own up to the mistakes she’s made along the way, and encourages us to do the same.” (Kip Tindell, cofounder and chairman of The Container Store)
 

What listeners say about Permission to Screw Up

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Refreshing and inspiring

I refer all of my friends who start their first businesses to this book. Gives effective perspective both in professional and personal life.

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One extraordinary honest book

I just LOVED this book, particularly because it gives you the full picture - the ups and downs, the lessons and failures.

The audio was also great, Kristen is a great, engaging narrator! Thumbs up!!

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Read more, learn more, read more.

I never had to read soo many other books after listening to this one.

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My new go to resource on humane & effective leadership

A really wonderful, engaging and insightful book on leadership. Whether you’re an experienced leader who has studied the theory, got the t shirt etc, or brand new to leadership, or starting up a new venture if your own, this book will help your thinking, and I hope, inspire you. I listened on Audible and my commute was transformed. Kristen is a great story teller, really bringing to life her ‘screw ups’ and the deep learning that followed. So much of her success is her people focus and the attention she has paid to relationships, values and honest feedback. She shares her insights generously and and also attributes and thanks the others who have helped along the way. I am already boring anyone who will listen to me with my recommendation to read or listen to this book. I’m delivering a 2 hour overview on leadership theory imminently - no mean feat! This is one of 4 books I am specifically referencing.

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INSPIRING

Amazing life changing story already helped me so much in our business and my personal life THANK YOU SO MUCH !

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Read this book to feel real

I learned so much about how hard it is to build a company and especially how to deal with people. What sparks among all, is compassion and how Kristen has learned along the way. I learned it is Ok to screw up and learn how valuable people are to a business.
Definitely and different take than most books and I loved every minute of it.

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Now this is inspiring!!

No one's perfect and getting it wrong is just as valuable a lesson as getting it right!! In fact it's clear that's really how we learn.

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a truly honest entrepreneurs journey

Kristen delivers a no holding back step by step account. some real surprising honestly from a successful entrepreneur

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Great book,

Loved this book. Well written, well thought through. Really fascinating to read /listen. I have finished it really fast.

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Inspiring listen, some key messages lost in the story

Good points made throughout the authors leadership journey. Useful for the aspiring leader and individual moving from management, towards mentoring and ultimately leadership.

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