Fairfield University talk to offer author's surprising lessons from self-made business icons | Press Releases

"...Schiff offers useful insights such as 'people who are the most brilliant at business are also those who fail most often,' and urges readers to understand that 'failure can be good.'" - Publishers Weekly

Image: Business Brilliant When the going gets tough, what do "the tough" do differently than the rest of us?

The answer to that question will be explored at a Fairfield University event featuring Lewis Schiff, author of the book "Business Brilliant: Surprising Lessons from the Greatest Self-Made Business Icons" (HarperCollins, 2013), taking place Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public, the talk will be held in the Dolan School of Business Dining Room. Fairfield University's School of Engineering and Charles F. Dolan School of Business, and the Inventors Association of Connecticut are sponsoring the event.

"Ever since the global economic turmoil of 2008, the factors that set the top 10 percent apart from the middle-class have become even more pronounced," said Douglas Lyon, Ph.D., professor of computer engineering at Fairfield and IACT president. "This talk will explore what has made those individuals thrive in this new economy."

Schiff, executive director of Inc. Business Owners Council, did an intriguing study on the subject. In January of 2009, during the depths of the global economic turmoil, he directed a survey of 800 household decision makers. Half of those survey respondents came from high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth households. During extensive interviews, Schiff sought the answer to this question: when the going gets tough, what do self-made Americans do to succeed?

In his new book, "Business Brilliant," he reveals the results of his research, including how top business leaders excel in areas of team building, risk management and decision-making. During Schiff's presentation, attendees will be challenged to compare their own practices to a benchmark defined by the top 10 percent of American households. These are the executives and entrepreneurs who have successfully navigated the rapidly changing economy and who are positioned to continue their success into the next economic cycle.

For more information about the School of Engineering and the Dolan School of Business, visit www.fairfield.edu . For further event details, visit www.inventus.org .