Stories

Noam Wasserman studied hundreds of entrepreneurs and found “that by the time the ventures were three years old, 50% of founders were no longer the CEO; in year four, only 40% were still in the corner office; and fewer than 25% led their companies’ initial public offerings. He also found that founders don’t let go easily. Four out of five ... Continue Reading »

Kathy was a full-time housewife dabbling in her art after a career at IBM. She was a college graduate with a major in art design. In 2000, at the age of 42, her husband had a cerebral hemorrhage.  He could not work, and Kathy became the sole money earner through her art.  She redesigned herself and has become a professional artist, taking students ... Continue Reading »

Molly’s boss had recently given her some added responsibility with higher leadership expectations in the organization. In her mid-twenties, Molly was excited to have been given more responsibility, she was proud her boss saw her potential and she was enjoying her new role. Then her boss left for a new company. While Molly waited for her boss to ... Continue Reading »

After working in various positions for ten years in the retail industry in the Northeast, Dan was excited that he had landed the hot job as Director of Customer Relations for a large, major national brand company in the Mid-west. Dan thought to himself- I’ve got this! At 32, he was excited for this big opportunity in his career. Dan worked hard ... Continue Reading »

The sun was starting to set, and shadows were growing across her office. As Barbara sat there surrounded by boxes, she let out a huge sigh. She had spent the last few days going through everything in her office. Barbara thought to herself – I can’t believe this is my last day.  She had one big box on either side of her desk.  One labeled SAVE and ... Continue Reading »

John’s Story (Mid-fifties executive; took VP position and struggled with new demands, new team, and new company) John recently accepted a new position in a new company. At 56, the position was really attractive: it had a vice-president level title, significant responsibility, and the pay was great. Plus, he would have four weeks of vacation each ... Continue Reading »