How Arthur Blank, Bernie Marcus co-founded Home Depot after being fired
Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus didn't let getting fired stop them from building their own home improvement chain.
How Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman's $330M mistake improved the company's investment process
In 1989, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman approved the $330 million purchase of steel company Edgcomb, which ended up being a costly mistake for the private equity firm.
How Fred Smith rescued FedEx from bankruptcy by playing blackjack in Las Vegas
In its early years, FedEx was a success, but rising fuel costs led the company to go into debt quickly.
How Mary Barra led GM through its 2014 recall scandal and changed the company's culture
General Motors was faced with a huge crisis just months into Mary T. Barra's tenure as CEO. She was named "crisis manager of the year" for the way she handled it.
How Virgin's Richard Branson moved past his failed cola brand
In 1994, Richard Branson launched Virgin Cola, but after significant pushback from competitors, he decided to fold the brand and move on to other ventures.
How Jeff Bezos helped Amazon overcome a major competitor to become an ecommerce giant
When Barnes & Noble launched its website in 1997 and people thought Amazon would lose to the bookseller, Jeff Bezos told his employees to focus on customers instead of competition.
How Netflix's Reed Hastings overcame failure while leading his first company
Before he was the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings led another company called Pure Software, where he went through five VPs of sales in six years.
How Tim Cook increased Apple's success despite loss, naysayers, missteps
Tim Cook had a lot of pressure as Apple's new CEO in 2011, especially after his mentor Steve Jobs died.
How Bill Gates learned to give up control so Microsoft could grow
In Microsoft's earliest days, Bill Gates admitted he micromanaged his team.
How Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg learned his toughest lesson as CEO
Here's how Mark Zuckerberg learned that leaders can't just have purpose, you have to impart it to others.
How Mark Cuban became a billionaire after being fired from several jobs
Mark Cuban had trouble holding down a job before he started his own successful business.
How Elon Musk was inspired to found Tesla, SpaceX after being fired from PayPal
Elon Musk was fired from his role as CEO of PayPal in 2000, but has since created SpaceX and Tesla and become a billionaire.
How Meg Whitman turned eBay into a multi-billion dollar company
When Meg Whitman took the role of eBay CEO in 1998, she helped propel the company through acquisitions while keeping the culture alive.
How Warren Buffett's 'mistake,' Berkshire Hathaway, became the foundation of his career
Even though Warren Buffett has said that buying Berkshire Hathaway was "the dumbest stock I ever bought," he turned the company into a conglomerate with over 90 subsidiaries.
How JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon went from being fired to becoming a top leader in banking
In 1998, Jamie Dimon was forced out of his role as president of Citigroup. By 2005 he was the CEO of JPMorgan Chase.