Most people are surprised to learn that I flunked out of Georgia Tech.
As a leadership coach, executive coach, and Vistage Chair, I’ve spent more than three decades helping CEOs and business leaders navigate challenges, build organizations, and develop themselves. From the outside, it might seem as though my path was always straightforward and upward.
It wasn’t.
In fact, one of the most important lessons of my life came from one of my greatest disappointments.
The Summer 2026 issue of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine published an article I wrote titled, “I Flunked Out of Tech.” The story recounts a painful chapter from my freshman year when I failed academically and was forced to leave the university. It was humbling, embarrassing, and completely unexpected. GT Article
At the time, I had always been able to rely on natural ability, hard work at the last minute, and an unshakable confidence that things would somehow work out. Georgia Tech exposed weaknesses I didn’t know I had. The academic rigor was unlike anything I had previously experienced, and eventually I found myself failing despite giving it my best effort.
What I didn’t realize then was that this failure would become one of the most valuable gifts of my life—teaching me lasting life lessons about leadership, resilience, and growth.
Failure Is a Terrible Teacher—But an Effective One
When things come easily, we often attribute success to talent. But when things don’t come easily, we learn about character.
Flunking out forced me to confront questions I had never seriously considered:
- Was I willing to do the hard work when there was no shortcut?
- Could I persevere when success wasn’t guaranteed?
- Was my identity tied to achievement, or was I willing to learn and grow through failure?
- Would I quit, or would I return stronger?
Looking back, those questions were far more important than any grade I received.
The Lesson That Changed My Life
I eventually returned to Georgia Tech, changed my major, changed my study habits, and changed my approach to learning. But the most significant change wasn’t academic.
I learned that persistence often matters more than raw ability. I learned that humility is not weakness. I learned that progress is frequently the result of showing up consistently when there is no immediate reward. Most importantly, I learned that setbacks are not verdicts. They are opportunities for growth.
That lesson has served me far beyond college.
Why This Matters for Leaders
Over the years, I’ve worked with hundreds of CEOs, company presidents, and business owners. One thing I’ve observed repeatedly is that successful leaders eventually encounter situations they cannot outsmart, outwork overnight, or solve through sheer force of will.
A company loses a major customer. A trusted employee leaves. An acquisition fails. A market shifts. A leadership challenge lingers far longer than expected.
In those moments, the next step isn’t always clear. And that’s when perseverance becomes a leadership advantage.
The leaders who ultimately succeed are rarely the ones who never experience setbacks. They’re the ones who keep moving forward when progress is slow, uncertainty is high, and quitting feels like the easier option.
A Different Definition of Success
As I enter what I often call the “fourth quarter” of my life, I find myself viewing success very differently than I did when I was 18 years old, and in life’s “first quarter.”
I know now that success isn’t about never failing. Success is about learning from the failure. It’s about resilience. It’s about humility. It’s about continuing to grow long after you’ve achieved some level of accomplishment.
And it’s about recognizing that some of life’s greatest lessons arrive disguised as disappointments.
Ironically, flunking out of Georgia Tech may have been one of the best things that ever happened to me. At the time, it felt like an ending. In reality, it was a beginning.