AIM High BOUNCE back
A Successful Woman's Guide to Rethinking and Rising Up from Failure
March 2026 | River Grove Books
The ultimate guide for accomplished leaders ready to transform professional setbacks into strategic advantages. Based on research with 1,000+ leaders across 60 countries.
WHY This Book Matters
Your high achievers are not struggling with failure because they lack talent or drive. They are struggling because nobody ever taught them what to do when things go wrong.
When accomplished professionals hit a setback, most organizations tell them to be resilient and keep going. That is not enough. Our research with 1,000+ women across 60 countries shows that without the right tools, failure does not just slow people down. It stops them from aiming high again.
Whether you are building a more resilient team or navigating your own next chapter, this book gives you a concrete system for what to do when it hits.
Readers will learn to:
Recognize the five types of failure and why accomplished leaders are hit hardest by each
Navigate the Danger Zone of Doubt without spiraling or pulling back
Use the Ground-Gather-Go framework to process setbacks and return stronger
Build the support systems that make bouncing back faster and more sustainable
Take intelligent risks again, even after a significant failure
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"Turns professional setbacks into powerful stepping stones for growth and success. This book offers thewisdom and tools every accomplished leader needs."
Marshall Goldsmith
Thinkers 50 #1 Executive Coach, New YorkTimes bestselling author
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"A must-read for any leader navigating the complexities of modern careers. Macaulay and Riegel providea roadmap for resilience that is both practical and transformative."
Frances Frei
Professor, Harvard Business School, co-author of Unleashed
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"Essential reading for anyone who has ever faced a professional setback. This book will change how you think about failure forever."
Alex Osterwalder
Creator of Business Model Canvas, author of Business Model Generation
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"A powerful guide for turning your toughest moments into your greatest strengths. Filled with wisdom, research, and actionable strategies."
Dr. Tasha Eurich
Organizational psychologist, New York Times bestselling author of Insight
Who This Book Is For:
HR and L&D leaders who want to build cultures where people take intelligent risks, learn from setbacks, and perform at their best rather than playing it safe.
Managers and team leaders whose high performers have gone quiet, pulled back, or stopped raising their hands after a difficult experience.
Executive coaches and leadership consultants looking for a research-backed framework they can bring directly into their client work.
Accomplished professionals who are done pretending failure does not hurt and are ready to learn exactly what to do when it does.
Fiona Macaulay
Fiona Macaulay has spent two decades studying how accomplished leaders process and recover from failure.
She is founder and CEO of The WILD Network, connecting 25,000 leaders across 115 countries, and serves as professor and entrepreneur-in-residence at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.
Recognized by Thinkers50 and featured in The New York Times and Fortune.