Warren Bennis put it: “Some magic takes place in the crucible of leadership. . . . The individual brings certain attributes into the crucible and emerges with new, improved leadership skills. Whatever is thrown at them, leaders emerge from their crucibles stronger and unbroken.” That’s the arc. We’re smacked in the head by the realization that life isn’t unfolding as we’d hoped, that all our careful plotting hasn’t protected us from the shock of failure and disappointment. Our lives falter. Our companies stagger. We are in that alchemist’s crucible, and the heat of loss and pain is turned up.
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