Max Westerman was the Netherlands' longest serving TV journalist in America. Before he became a correspondent for RTL Nieuws, he worked as a reporter for Newsweek. His work appeared in leading day- and weekly newspapers at home and abroad. He made two TV series and wrote the bestseller Max & The City.
Max brought over 25 year of his life in America. In his recently published book “In all States” he paints a penetrating picture of America on the basis of his personal experiences. The Institute for Brilliant Failures draws up some passages “In all States” and interviews Max Westerman about his dealings with Americans when it comes to making mistakes and taking risks. And about a personal Brilliant Failure!
About ambition, positive energy and daredevil:
The American Spirit: a mix of ambition, positive energy and daredevil. It is the reason for their success. Americans take risks more easily than we do and are less afraid of failing. That natural spirit makes them captivating and inspiring as loners, but as a people sometimes terrifying. An impression that you will also find in worldwide opinion polls. Even the biggest America-hater often thinks surprisingly positively of American citizens and reserves his anger for their government. ..Americans are…crazy, nice and crazy. That's their strength. They dare to dream big. And chase their dreams without constantly wondering what the neighbors think. …their possessed will to win, to be the best, in everything they do. Almost everything that happens in this hyper-competitive society -economically, politics, social- has to do with the boundless ambition to ……exceed oneself and others.”
About the short attention span of Americans:
Americans have short attention spans. They try everything and if it doesn't work, have they forgotten it again and are working on something new. This trait contributes to their success but also helps explain why they face the major problems in their country - discrimination and poverty- don't tackle. They can't be solved overnight, but screaming for a long-term policy. And Americans don't have the patience for that: you should be able to solve any problem today.”
Over elbows and bankruptcies:
“On the one hand an elbows society, where only winners count: ‘second place is for losers’. On the other hand, a country where losers get many new opportunities. And they take them too. More than a million Americans go bankrupt every year. In Europe, someone who files for bankruptcy is considered a failure, the American sees him as an entrepreneur who dares to take risks.”
About American Presidents and Failure:
“The fact that George Bush was a serial loser until his forties received more attention in the Netherlands than in America. It's never too late there to still get your portion of success. Abraham Lincoln was a bankrupt shopkeeper before he ended slavery as one of America's greatest presidents. Henry Ford had a long string of failures when he came up with his Model Model T and ushered in his automotive era. Americans love comeback stories like this.”
About the Institute of Brilliant Failures:
“What a nice site! I completely agree with your philosophy. It's not for nothing that I end my book 'in all states', that came out recently, with the rule: ‘….that's one of the lessons America taught me: you have to dare to make mistakes.”
See also Max Westerman's brilliant failure of the ham factory in our database about his failed adventure as co-owner of a 'ham factory'.
The passages in this article are taken from the In All States edition, The America of Max Westerman., New Amsterdam Publishers. ISBN 978 90 468 0290 8. See also www.maxwestermann.nl and www.nieuwamsterdam.nl
