What if success depends less on talent than on luck, resilience, and your choices when things go wrong? Former Inflection CEO Mike Grossman challenges conventional wisdom about success and leadership. In this edition of Author Talks, McKinsey’s Artemis Vallianatos speaks with Mike Grossman, six-time Silicon Valley CEO and McKinsey alumnus, about Failure Is An Option: Reflections of a Silicon Valley CEO (Simon & Schuster, July 2026). Drawing on nearly three decades as a leader and lifelong learner, Grossman challenges the notion that hard work alone determines success. Instead, he argues that integrity, adaptability, and learning from failure are what truly define effective leadership. An edited version of the conversation follows.