AOA 2013-2014 Presidential Address: Failure to Succeed? AOA Critical Issues, 2013-2014 Presidential Address, delivered at the 126th Annual Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA), June 14, 2013, in Denver, Colorado

摘要

It seems rather morbid to title a Presidential Address-which should be inspirational and uplifting-with the word FAILURE, especially from a "glass half full" person like me. In fact, until fairly recently, the stigma of "failure" was associated with many of those at the bottom of their class who chose orthopaedic surgery as a career. We've come a long way since then; today, organized medicine looks to orthopaedic surgeons for leadership, with numerous orthopaedic surgeons serving as medical school deans, running entire health-care systems, and serving in both chambers of the United States Congress.Failure is the highway to success. Tom Watson Sr. said, "If you want to succeed, double your failure rate." History is full of stories of successful leaders, which are also stories of great failures. But people don't see the failures. They only remember one side of the picture, and they often say that person got lucky: "He must have been at the right place at the right time." Several leaders in their fields, including Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Bill Gates, all experienced substantive failures that eventually led to major successes. Without the contributions from these great men, I would not be able to stand here today presenting this Microsoft PowerPoint presentation to all of you.