What will I learn about: that true resilience is not just about surviving life's bumpy ride, but about actively adapting and remaining flexible so you can flourish in your workplace?

Understand that true resilience is not just about surviving life's bumpy ride, but about actively adapting and remaining flexible so you can flourish in your workplace.

What will I learn about: why embracing frequent failure is an essential stepping stone to success, guided by the historical setbacks of highly accomplished figures like Michael Jordan and Thomas Edison?

Discover why embracing frequent failure is an essential stepping stone to success, guided by the historical setbacks of highly accomplished figures like Michael Jordan and Thomas Edison.

What will I learn about: implement a 'fail fast' methodology to test new ideas early, keeping the stakes low and preventing years of wasted investment?

Learn how to implement a 'fail fast' methodology to test new ideas early, keeping the stakes low and preventing years of wasted investment.

What will I learn about: Overcome the trap of familiarity and professional risk-aversion by setting moderate challenges that encourage creative solutions in today's volatile work environment?

Overcome the trap of familiarity and professional risk-aversion by setting moderate challenges that encourage creative solutions in today's volatile work environment.

What will I learn about: Explore how unconscious psychological drivers, such as childhood transference and emotional projection, secretly shape your daily behavior and workplace conflicts?

Explore how unconscious psychological drivers, such as childhood transference and emotional projection, secretly shape your daily behavior and workplace conflicts.

Bounce Back

How to Fail Fast and Be Resilient at Work

Susan Kahn

★ 4.3 / 5(143 ratings)

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Categories:

Psychology Career & Success

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Have you ever wondered what ancient Greek philosophers and modern neuroscientists both agree is the true secret to surviving a workplace crisis?
💡What if you could use insights from Freudian psychoanalysis to completely reframe your fear of failure and take bolder risks in your career?
💡Are you curious about the specific psychological techniques that allow top professionals to bounce back from setbacks that would stop most people in their tracks?

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Key Takeaways from Bounce Back

✓Understand that true resilience is not just about surviving life's bumpy ride, but about actively adapting and remaining flexible so you can flourish in your workplace.
✓Discover why embracing frequent failure is an essential stepping stone to success, guided by the historical setbacks of highly accomplished figures like Michael Jordan and Thomas Edison.
✓Learn how to implement a 'fail fast' methodology to test new ideas early, keeping the stakes low and preventing years of wasted investment.
✓Overcome the trap of familiarity and professional risk-aversion by setting moderate challenges that encourage creative solutions in today's volatile work environment.
✓Explore how unconscious psychological drivers, such as childhood transference and emotional projection, secretly shape your daily behavior and workplace conflicts.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Bounce Back

Mind Map

Bounce Back

Concept of Resilience+

Embracing Failure+

Failing Fast+

Psychological Clarity+

Physical Resilience+

Stoicism & Negative Thinking+

Power of Purpose+

Finding Meaning+

Actionable Advice+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9

How does Susan Kahn define 'resilience' in the context of personal development and the workplace?

A. The ability to stubbornly resist change and maintain one's original position regardless of circumstances.
B. Adaptability and flexibility to take on a new form to meet demands without getting permanently bent out of shape.
C. The capacity to suppress negative emotions and maintain a cheerful facade during a crisis.
D. A strict adherence to positive thinking to ensure bad things never happen.

Question 2 of 9

According to psychologist Denis Waitley, how do the most accomplished individuals and institutions view failure?

A. As an 'undertaker' that signals the end of a career path.
B. As a teacher that provides valuable lessons for future success.
C. As an unavoidable consequence of taking on too much responsibility.
D. As a temporary setback that should be hidden from external stakeholders.

Question 3 of 9

What is the primary benefit of adopting a 'fail fast' approach in a modern work environment?

A. It eliminates the possibility of failure entirely by sticking to familiar routines.
B. It ensures that all products are perfect before they reach the consumer market.
C. It allows individuals to test new ideas early when the stakes are low, gaining insights to prevent larger future failures.
D. It shifts the blame for project failures onto external market conditions.

Question 4 of 9

If a professional has unacceptable feelings of hatred toward a coworker and unconsciously decides that the coworker actually hates them instead, which psychological concept is at play?

A. Transference
B. Projection
C. Sublimation
D. Repression

Question 5 of 9

According to neuroscientist Matthew Walker, why should a relaxing alcoholic 'nightcap' be avoided before bed?

A. It acts as a stimulant that keeps the brain awake for up to eight hours.
B. It causes vivid nightmares that disrupt the natural sleep cycle.
C. It robs the body of deep sleep, which is the most restorative part of the sleep cycle.
D. It makes it difficult to maintain a consistent bedtime routine.

Question 6 of 9

How does the Stoic practice of contemplating worst-case scenarios, such as death or losing one's job, contribute to resilience?

A. It encourages a state of constant anxiety so that one is never caught off guard by unexpected changes.
B. It liberates individuals, making it easier to embrace life and not put off tasks until tomorrow.
C. It proves that positive thinking is ultimately useless in a corporate environment.
D. It forces employees to lower their expectations and accept inevitable mediocrity.

Question 7 of 9

In the book's example of the two overworked teachers, why is Teacher 'B' considered more resilient than Teacher 'A'?

A. Teacher 'B' receives a higher salary and has fewer personal debts to worry about.
B. Teacher 'B' uses positive thinking to ignore the students' poor behavior entirely.
C. Teacher 'B' has a personal purpose and set of values that align with the broader mission of the school.
D. Teacher 'B' relies on the 'fail fast' method to test new lesson plans without emotional attachment.

Question 8 of 9

The Japanese concept of 'ikigai' is found at the intersection of four specific questions. Which of the following is NOT one of those questions?

A. What do you love doing?
B. What are you good at?
C. What does the world need?
D. What will bring you the most social status?

Question 9 of 9

What is the goal of the actionable exercise called 'Turning the Obstacle Upside Down'?

A. To physically remove yourself from toxic work environments.
B. To reframe difficult situations and difficult people as opportunities to develop personal virtues like patience and empathy.
C. To transfer your most stressful tasks to a colleague who is better equipped to handle them.
D. To list all the possible ways a project could fail before starting it.

Bounce Back — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
21 — To succeed, accept that you’ll fail again and again.
32 — “Fail fast” helps individuals and organizations get the most out of failure.
43 — Your unconscious influences your behavior, and understanding your inner motivations can build resilience.
54 — Sleep is essential for building physical resilience.
65 — Resilience isn’t only about positivity – it also helps to consider everything that might go wrong.
76 — Purpose strengthens resilience and carries us through difficult times.
87 — Only you can decide what makes work meaningful.
98 — Final summary

Bounce Back Summary & Overview

Bounce Back (2020) is an instruction manual for professionals faced by seemingly insurmountable workplace challenges. Drawing on business coach Susan Kahn’s insights into the psychology of resilience, these blinks explore strategies that will help you overcome setbacks and change your thinking. Along the way, you’ll find out what ancient Greek philosophy, Freudian psychoanalysis, and contemporary neuroscience can teach us about the art of resilience.

Who Should Listen to Bounce Back?

Would-be risk-takers scared of failing
Managers and team leaders
Workers worried about disruptive changes

About the Author: Susan Kahn

Susan Kahn is a business psychologist, coach, consultant, and mediator. She teaches at Birkbeck, University of London and is a faculty member at the School of Life. Kahn regularly works with individual and corporate clients looking to develop their potential as leaders or to resolve workplace conflict. Bounce Back is her first book.

Bounce Back

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Bounce Back — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Bounce Back

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Bounce Back — Full Chapter Overview

Bounce Back Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Bounce Back?

About the Author: Susan Kahn

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