Stoic Strategies for Modern Leaders
In this episode, host Jen Shanahan is joined by Dr. William B. Irvine to explore the timeless philosophy of stoicism and its relevance to modern leadership, emphasizing the importance of resilience and learning from failure. Dr. Irvine shares how leaders can navigate challenges with purpose and integrity while cultivating a balanced mindset through practical strategies.
Guest, Dr. William B. Irvine:
...You will never fail again if you just do this. It's really simple. Don't ever do anything hard, and you will not fail.
But if you really want to be a successful person and look at the successful people who are out there, one of the things that strikes me is their capacity for failing. They failed during their careers hugely.
And here's where the Stoic part comes...they also were resilient. They could bounce back. So, to fail is not a disaster. Failing to bounce back, that's a disaster. Failing and not learning anything from the failure, that's really bad. I mean, so the goal should be, you don't do crazy things, but you take risks. You do things that are difficult...Why are you doing it? Because it's difficult. It'll give you a chance at failing in a non-catastrophic way. Why? So, you can practice bouncing back. So, you can practice failing and learning from the failure. And then the way I like to put it is, so you can go on and fail in better ways, right? And that's how you can reach...a much higher goal.
Disclaimer
Here at Lead Read Today, we endeavor to take an objective (rational, scientific) approach to analyzing leaders and leadership. All opinion pieces will be reviewed for appropriateness, and the opinions shared are solely of the author and not representative of The Ohio State University or any of its affiliates.
