Book Review: We Got Fired! . . . And It's the Best Thing That Happened to Us by Harvey Mackay (New York: Random House, 2004)
by Marilyn Edelson

Using twenty-eight stories of "failures" like Joe Torre of the Yankees, Bernie Marcus (Home Depot), Tom Stemberg (Staples), Larry King (CNN), and his own story, Mackay writes a success book containing wisdom on how to rise from the ashes, overcome adversity and get back on top.

Mackay's stories of making lemonade out of lemons contain practical advice we can all use when the chips are down – the key being it is your response to the others' actions, not the fact of being fired, that makes all the difference.

The art is looking for the lessons and turning the negative energy into positive, knowing it is a waste of time and energy to be bitter and NEVER wise to burn bridges.

In a controversial episode of The Apprentice that raised some questions in the media about the lack of humanity in corporate America, we recently saw "The Donald" fire a guy who took a noble but risky action and offered to stay in the Board room with the "firing squad."

He had done a great job and had been excused from the board room so he "knew" he was safe. He took the risk because he thought his presence could help spare a teammate he wished to defend.

Donald hauled out his famous "You're fired," stating that despite his great job, it was a foolish position to take if he was really interested in advancing his career in Trump's organization. I hope the former apprentice reads this book and succeeds in getting inspired from that experience.

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