Permission to Screw Up

By: Kristen Hadeed, Simon Sinek - foreword

Narrated by: Kristen Hadeed

Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's 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 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

Everything I Needed as a Millennial Manager

This book was everything I needed at just the right time. In the midst of struggling to find a way to align my leadership goals with a “behind the times” company culture, I was starting to doubt myself and my mission. After hearing Kristen’s story and being able to identify with the majority of it in one way or another, I feel like I have been able to refocus on what truly matters to me as a leader. Leadership is incredibly difficult when you are saddled with the title and responsibilities of [insert title of influence here]. No wonder so many seniors/executives have lost their leadership paths in a jungle of conflicting organizational cultures. Simon pointed out that people pulled out their notepads and listened when Kristen spoke; as they should. What she has to say is absolutely invaluable for all levels of an organization. Particularly for those who have lost their way. I am so glad she decided to share her screw ups with the rest of us. Thank you, Kristen.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Finally an honest, vulnerable book about business.

I was engrossed from the beginning to end, and enjoyed it more than the last 20 I listened to combined. I applaud the authors courage.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Inspired

Great book. Easy to listen to. I finished in just a few short days. As a business owner it is great to hear that it is ok to mess up from time to time...to be human. After listening to this book I feel a renewed energy to find the best in people and to work as hard to build internal relationships as we do on the external ones!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Easy to listen to!

Kristin is so pleasant and easy to listen to. Hearing her story is almost like sitting down and listening to a story narrated by a friend. Her lessons learned are indispensable and her openness to admit her mistakes is refreshing . This book is deafly something that all leaders and future leaders need to read!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Couldn't listen to this. Reviews cant be real

Maybe it went from 1/10 to 10/10 over the course of the book. I wasn't gonna wait around to find out. I lasted 5 minutes.

Difficult to listen to the non-pro narration and style written for a 20 year old.

Everyone should listen to this valuable story

great story about the struggles of leadership and that fact that, as the title points out, it's ok to screw up. An idea that may seem obvious but is not necessarily practiced.

This book is a true gem!

Fun and insightful. This book has something for everyone, whether you are a young Entrepreneur/ "Intrapreneur", a seasoned CEO, or someone interested in how to serve your company well. It was a great reminder of the passion, grit and commitment to excellence that it takes to be an effective leader. The road of effective leadership is replete with many challenges, thank you Kristen for being transparent about the challenges you faced as you and your team journeyed the road of success. Kristen is quick to give credit to those who helped her along the way and to the resources she used to better herself and the people on her team. I highly recommend this book and I look forward to following Kristen's work in the future.

one of the best books

This is one of the best book on how a leader should be also it’s with real stories, appreciate the time taken by Kristen to share incredible journey with us. It has so many lessons, worth your time.

Real...excellent read!

You can feel the experiences through Kristen Hadeed's words and voice, and appreciate that she was willing, and vulnerable enough, to read her own writing.

Puts you right in her life story and males you want to have gone through those struggles and triumphs with her and her team.

The emotions are real and allows you to internalize your relationships - personal and professional.

Relato Real y claro

Excelente libro para tener una idea de cómo es ser dueño de empresa, muy divertido y Real me encanto!!!!!!

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.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Inspiring and entertaining tales of leadership

Refreshingly candid and open tales from leadership that are both inspiring and entertaining in equal measure.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wow!

If you want to learn then this is a great book to listen to. Game changer.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

INSPIRING

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

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Must read for Entrepreneurs

Probably the best book I have listened to on audible. Absolutely Fantastic. Kirsten is an inspiring leader who helps us understand it's ok to get things wrong and it's ok for your team to get it wrong. it helped me recreate my company culture and revisit my core values. thank you Kirsten Hadeed.

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.

A Fantastic Read, Highly Recommended

I bought this title purely on impulse, because I wanted to listen to something different. Well, this title is certainly that. As a young college student, Miss Hadeed starts cleaning peoples houses to make some cash, and before she knows it she has more work than she can handle on her own, and so she takes on an extra pair of hands to help out. And then another, and then another, and before too long her little part-time money earner has turned into a fully-fledged business, with all the aches and pains that entails. And almost at every turn, she goes left when she should've gone right, she zigs when she should've zagged.For example she secures a business loan so that she can expand her business, buy materials, take on some more staff, but the first thing she does is throw a wild party for her staff to celebrate how well things are going, only to find the next day that the party has used up a huge percentage of her loan.

And yet, she somehow survives, learning from her mistakes and growing as a result, as do her very loyal staff.

Highly recommended...

Realistic and Authentic

"Trust people with enormous responsibilities, allow them to mess up and then give them a chance to fix their mistakes and learn." This superb piece shows how a humble business can grow into a big success if the team of employees is dealt with humanity and empathy. True leadership can inspire the team to put their heart and soul into the company.

Amazing performance and I was glued to listening till the very end - Kristen you rock!

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.

Good honest story

As a business owner I can relate to a lot of the content. Kristen tells the story well in all its glory and disaster.