Fashion powerhouse Anna Wintour has revealed why getting sacked was the best thing that ever happened for her career. And it worked for these successful failures too…
Though she's now the most powerful woman in fashion, Anna Wintour has revealed that getting fired from her job at US magazine Harper's Bazaar in 1975 was the best thing that ever happened to her.
'Everyone should be sacked at least once,' Anna Wintour said in an interview with Alastair Campbell for The Times this week, crediting her dismissal as a key step in her ascension to Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue.
Here are a few other successful women who overcame getting sacked to get to where they are today:
Madonna got fired from Dunkin’ Donuts
When she first moved to New York before her career hit the big time, Madonna was forced to take a job at Dunkin' Donuts in Time Square. After squirting jam filling at a customer on her very first day, Madonna was fired on the spot.
Oprah Winfrey got fired from her local news station
Before becoming a household name with a net worth of $2.7bn, Oprah started out as a reporter for television news station WJZ-TV in Baltimore. But she was quickly told she was 'unfit for TV news' and fired on April Fool's Day, no less.
Arianna Huffington got rejected 36 times
Now one of the most recognisable names in publishing, Arianna Huffington once had a book rejected three dozen times by publishers before finally being accepted. The Huffington Post also attracted initial criticism but is now worth $315 million.
J.K. Rowling got fired for daydreaming
While working as a secretary at the London office of Amnesty International, J.K. Rowling spent too much time writing stories on her work computer, and was sacked. While living on her redundancy pay, she came up with Harry Potter, the idea that made her a billionaire.
Sally Krawcheck got fired from Bank of America
Sally Krawcheck, now the owner of the global women’s networking organisation 85 Broads, got fired from her high-level job at Bank of America. She has since said, 'How many people get to get fired and it’s on the front page of The Wall Street Journal?'