Volume 16:
If at First You Don't Succeed... Mapping Global Attitudes to Adversity

If at First You Don’t Succeed… Mapping Global Attitudes to Adversity is the sixteenth volume in the Barclays Wealth Insights series. Providing an in-depth study into the different ways in which global high net worth individuals view and respond to setbacks and adversity, the report explores how traits such as persistence and optimism are valued, the role of luck and how entrepreneurs view overcoming obstacles as a stepping stone to future success.


Based on a survey of 2,000 wealthy individuals from around the world, 800 of whom define themselves as entrepreneurs, the report has revealed how these distinct attitudes to risk and reward are creating important global differences in how we respond and react to failure. Respondents in emerging markets were found to be more likely to say that viewing failure positively is essential for an economy to grow, compared to those in the US and Europe.

To read the report, click here



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Our Insights Panel

Rachel Bridge

Former Enterprise Editor for the Sunday Times and Author of How to Start a Business Without Any Money

Will Butler-Adams

CEO of Brompton Bikes

Dr Greg B Davies

Head of Behavioural Finance, Barclays

Alexis Dormandy

Founder of LoveThis, a social recommendation application, and a Blogger for the Daily Telegraph

Carol Dweck

Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and the Author of Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential

Ben Hunt-Davis

Former member of the British rower, Olympic Champion and Author of Will it Make the Boat Go Faster

Will King

Founder of King of Shaves

Michael Mauboussin

Chief Investment Strategist at Legg Mason Capital Management and Author of The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing

Paul Ormerod

Economist and Author of Why Most Things Fail: And How to Avoid It

Henry Petroski

Engineer and the Author of To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure

Richard Phelps

Head of Barclays Corporate & Employer Solutions

Navi Radjou

Independent Strategy Consultant and Co-Author of Jugaad Innovation

Tali Sharot

Neuroscientist and Author of The Optimism Bias: a Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain

Donald Van de Mark

Former CNBC Correspondent and Author of The Good Among the Great: 19 Traits of the Most Admirable, Creative, and Joyous People