“Comeback is not a
matter of luck, it
is taking a chosen
path,” so, at any
rate, counsels an important book
written by two academics, Jeffrey
Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward.
The title then sends us on our way:
Firing Back: How Great Leaders
Rebound After Career Disasters.
The chosen path to recovery
after a major career setback
according to Firing Back varies
from case to case, but corporate
experts and psychologists agree
that in all cases certain way
stations must be passed on the
road to recovery. The fi rst station
is where failure is acknowledged
and the reasons for it objectively
pondered. It is here where one
slips into the starting blocks for
renewed trial of professional
stamina.
But, just what is failure? Well,
it can be a mistake that costs you
an almost assured promotion. Or,
it can cost your job. Being fi red
is, of course, Failure, capitalised.
It can be a searing experience,
especially for someone who has
reached a position of relative
importance. In such a case, it
infl icts humiliation. High-fl ying
research has found that this is
quite a common experience—but,
then, so is being fi red. Even
Abraham Lincoln got to know the
feeling, and Winston Churchill,
several times.
Moreover, attainment of
great success can hold the seed
of spectacular failure. Reaching
the top needn’t be the end of
the battle. In fact, in many cases
it is where it starts. According
to Forbes.com, 1,450 chief
executives left their jobs in
2006, a record number, along
with more than 21,000 C-level
executives. It may have come as
consolation that some of them
were vouchsafed the honour of
fi ring themselves.