Permission to Screw Up

How I Learned to Lead by Doing (Almost) Everything Wrong

By: Kristen Hadeed, Simon Sinek - foreword

Narrated by: Kristen Hadeed

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 screw-ups, 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)

How did I ever lead without this?

Kristen came to speak at my school, La Sierra University, I was only able to stay for the first of three hours and as soon as I left to my office I purchased her book. I couldn't stop listening to it as I typed and texted to get work done. I listened to her on my drive home and as I cleaned my house - it only felt right. I though about how grateful I was for her rawness, her honesty, and creativeness of reminding us that millennials deserve to be seen beyond a black and white line. She shared the struggles within her company, practical ways she solved them, and her role in it's failures and successes. As a millennial leading and working with other millennials her experience reshaped my core values for serving my campus.
It's easy to listen to her and stay engaged.

Just what I needed

I have been in leadership in one fashion or another most of my “adult” life. I had taken a online class where Kristen was the host, it was about how to accept and receive effective feedback. I absolutely loved it and immediately got her book. After listening to her stories and the hard journey I connected with almost ever single part. It was exactly what I needed right now for my life. It has given me permission to be human and know to be imperfect is okay and I can still hold myself in high regard. I’m looking forward to sharing this with my leadership team and more. Thank you for having courage to be honest about your journey.

I love it. encouraging, helpful, and emotional

I am perfectly imperfect and a millennial. this book is refreshing and made me cry.

Perfect

This is a perfect book for anyone in a leader position! The real the honest everything. Loved it

Freedom to fail.

I loved the simplicity and honesty of this book. more or this type of leadership guidance is needed in our world. the way it was written flowed nicely from one section to the other. Lots of quotables to use.

Screw-up. An awesome book

It was a great book to listen to. It was exciting to a know where she came from and where she made it. it was interesting to hear @ both her mistakes and how she fixed them.

This book is Amazing!

This book is so heartfelt! So real! I feel that am better from just knowing your story. Thanks!

An honest account of leading!

This book is outstanding and reminds readers what actual leadership looks like. The use of stories to amplify what Kristen learned and her thought processes allow actual events to tell her story on her ideal of a leader and what a good learning organization looks like. Well done and keep learning and leading!

Millennial Memoir

Entertaining 'life story' about a young entrepreneur and her trials and tribulations of figuring out business. You think the story is almost too much good natured fun in the beginning to be what actually happened, that true hardships hadn't really been had, but the second half goes a little deeper and is nicely tied together at the end. It's far from a true 'rags to riches story' because the author had a lot of support but I think she raises some good points and tactics that can be applied to business owners. I had a few takeaways. There is some theoretical fluff from somebody that appears to still be 'figuring it out' though. I think there will be future books written by this author because there are still lessons to be had in business that deviate from theory. Not a business bible but overall worth the listen.

Amazing Theme!

I wish every success book that I've read highlighted mistakes just like Kristen Hadeed. I always have a busy schedule, being a company executive officer, but I easily set aside time to listen to this book in just 2 days. So many times I end up in books that highlight every successful human as a God that is somehow without mistakes. Kristen makes me feel like someone who can achieve without being riddled with self doubt. I learned a ton from this book and will definitely be listening to it again.