Q&A with Andrea Redmond and Patricia Crisafulli

Authors of Comebacks

How did the idea for this book originate? How did the two of you end up working together?

ANDREA: The idea for the book started with a conversation I had several years ago with the late Jim Cantalupo, who was CEO of McDonald’s. Jim related a prior time in his career when he had been passed over to become CEO and eventually left the company. (He later came back and became CEO). He shared what it was like to be so close to getting the job he wanted, only to lose out—and then have the news broadcast everywhere. Jim shared his experience with me so candidly, I knew then I wanted to do a book about how CEOs endure these kinds of setbacks, what gets them through, and what they ultimately do next. 

TRICIA: Andrea and I met when I was researching The House of Dimon, which is a leadership profile of Jamie Dimon. When Andrea described the book idea to me, I was thrilled to be part of the project. What appealed so strongly to me was being able to tell these stories from the person’s perspective, to give the human side of what normally plays out as a business story.

How did you choose the people to interview? How did you gain access to them? How did you get them to open up to you about these incredibly personal times in their lives? 

ANDREA: Because of my work as a consultant and executive recruiter, I knew many of these people—or I knew people who knew them. That made getting access a little easier. In our interviews we established a sense of trust based upon our clearly stated intention, which was that we were writing a book about their experiences in order to discover their lessons learned. 

TRICIA: Each time we interviewed someone, we would walk away amazed and grateful for each person’s level of candor and vulnerability. The level of honesty is what makes these stories so powerful. 

You spent a lot of time interviewing the people in the book. What were some of the underlying themes that you kept coming across? Did you notice any personality traits that all the leaders had in common?  

ANDREA: The common themes include resilience, having a plan and being deliberate, and redefining what it means to be successful at this point in your life. For some this has meant dusting themselves off and getting back in the game. For others, it has created an inflexion point to reassess their values and goals and to consider what a life of significance would look like for them today. Self-knowledge and the ability to be introspective to some degree are common traits among those who were able to go from setback to comeback. 

TRICIA: Many of the leaders emphasized the importance of their “supporters”—spouses, family, and close friends—to help them through the difficult times. At the same time, they relied upon their own inner strength to face the reality of what had happened and to chart their own course forward. You can’t go it alone, yet you cannot shield yourself from the upset. Going through it is the only way to the other side. That lesson came through in several of the stories.

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Quotable Comebacks

 “Think about people other than yourself. No one is going to care for your self-pity after all. You might as well start doing things for other people.”

                                                                           —David Neeleman, Founder and former CEO, Jetblue Airways

“No matter how successful you are, there are always setbacks. Success in life demands the ability to bounce back.”

                                                                           —David Pottruck, former CEO, Charles Schwab & Company

“[People] rallied around me—literally and figuratively. I got hundreds of e-mails from people I worked with and for; clients and employees and people who had been my bosses….That made a huge difference. If the world had gone silent, I would have been devastated,”

                                             —Patricia Dunn, former Chairman of the board, Hewlett-Packard Corporation

Overview of the Some of the Leaders Profiled in COMEBACKS

Dale Dawson, who after selling his company, TruckPro, to AutoZone, and following a successful career in investment banking, could have pursued any number of other business opportunities.  Instead, Dawson took himself off the track as he found himself without passion or a sense of mission—and pursued a life of significance by devoting himself to making a difference in a part of the world where he perceived a great need:  Rwanda. In this midst of his career transition, he learned:

• Follow your passion – Find what excites and energizes you.
• Seek purpose and meaning – This is especially important at mid-life; to discover new opportunities to deploy your knowledge and experience in a way that benefits others.

Jacques Nasser, former CEO of Ford Motor Company, spent more than two decades at Ford, in assignments on five continents. He transferred to headquarters and then became CEO—only to be asked to resign when his ambitious plans to make the company more competitive hit opposition.  Later, he assumed a position with the highly successful private equity firm, One Equity Partners. Nasser is now chairman of BHP Billiton, the world’s largest natural resources company.  His lessons:

• Don’t make quick decisions – Know what you want to do first. 
• Assess undiscovered opportunities – What possibilities exist outside the realm of your previous experiences.

Christopher Galvin, former Chairman and CEO of Motorola Inc., the firm founded by his grandfather, was the last of three generations of Galvin CEOs.  In the midst of a souring economy and global competitive pressures, Galvin was asked to step down as CEO—just as a turnaround he had put in place was about to come to fruition.  Now the founder of Harrison Street Partners, Galvin has learned:

• “Gut it out”—Although support of family, friends, and associates is appreciated, you must go through the pain and upset on your own.
• Resilience—The ability to rebound and “reboot” after upset and upheaval is possible only by drawing upon your personal values and leadership principles.

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• Comebacks - QA Interview with Authors (379188 Bytes)
  A Q&A with the authors of Comebacks
• Comebacks - Additional Material (397412 Bytes)
  Quotables and Overview