An important message from SUCCESS — our sincere apology

Dear SUCCESS community,

I’m writing to you personally because yesterday, March 4, an unauthorized individual gained access to the SUCCESS.com admin system and sent a newsletter containing racist, offensive language—including fabricated quotes falsely attributed to our valued contributors.

This content did not come from SUCCESS Magazine, our editorial team, or any of our contributors. It was the work of an attacker who exploited a vulnerability in our system. The content was hateful, inexcusable, and stands in direct opposition to everything SUCCESS represents.

I want to be clear: the offensive quotes attributed to our contributors were entirely fabricated. These are people we deeply respect and whose real work embodies the values of growth, leadership, and human potential that have defined SUCCESS for 128 years.

What happened

On the afternoon of March 4, an unauthorized individual accessed our admin dashboard and used it to publish offensive content on our website and send at least one newsletter containing hate speech. Within two hours, we:

• Removed all offensive content from the website
• Locked down the admin system
• Replaced our entire authentication system to prevent future unauthorized access
• Deployed content moderation filters as an additional safety net

What we’ve done since

• Eliminated password-based login entirely
• Added server-side content moderation—Offensive language is now blocked at the system level before it can be published or sent
• Restricted newsletter sending—Only senior administrators can now send newsletters
• Conducted a full security audit of all admin systems

To our contributors

I want to personally apologize to every contributor whose name appeared alongside content they did not write and would never endorse. We are reaching out individually to each person affected. Your trust in SUCCESS is something we take seriously, and we are committed to making this right.

One of the contributors affected was Jennifer B. Kahnweiler, Ph.D., a best-selling author, Certified Speaking Professional, and one of SUCCESS Magazine's most valued voices on leadership and workplace dynamics. Known as the "Champion of Introverts," Jennifer has spent decades helping organizations — including GE, NASA, CNN, and the CDC — unlock the strengths of introverted professionals. Her work has been featured in Forbes, TIME, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal, and her four books — The Introverted Leader, Quiet Influence, The Genius of Opposites, and Creating Introvert-Friendly Workplaces — have helped countless professionals lead with authenticity.

Jennifer's contributions to SUCCESS speak for themselves. We encourage you to read her work:

• 5 Tips to Handle Conflict When You're Working with Your Polar Opposite
• The Genius of Opposites: 3 Reasons Extroverts and Introverts Should Join Forces
• 3 Reasons It's So Hard to Work With Your Opposite
• The Introvert's Guide to Networking

The fabricated content attributed to Jennifer and other contributors during this incident was abhorrent and does not reflect their character, their work, or their relationship with SUCCESS in any way.

To our readers

You deserve better. The fact that this content reached your inbox under the SUCCESS name is something I take full responsibility for. The vulnerability that allowed this to happen should not have existed, and I am personally overseeing the changes to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me directly at glenn@success.com.

With sincere apologies,
Glenn Sanford
Managing Director, SUCCESS Enterprises