Nothing Fails Like Success - 4 Who Beat The Odds

There is that brutal business adage: Nothing fails like success.

Yet, it took too long for the concept of “a sustainable competitive advantage” to be mocked. In 2021, Forbes did a good job smashing that to bits.

In terms of individual careers, it’s painfully obvious how success can be snatched away or simply fade out. The coming of a new generation in entertainment, such as Lady Gaga, abruptly made the stylistics of Madonna embarrassingly out of the date. An example of fade-out had been Meta head Mark Zuckerberg. No longer does he “own” the social network space. A comeback to his former influence seems unlikely.

But there are those who have managed to not only hold onto success. Their careers have been on a growth trajectory. What they frequently have in common is this: the ability to navigate crisis. Let’s look at four of them.

Bob Iger.

Former chief executive officer of Disney and current player in artificial reality, he led Disney through a turbulent era. From the get-go when he became CEO in 2005, the old-line business faced new kinds of competition and technology disruptions. Then there had been COVID’s devastating impacts. Theme parks closed. TV and film production halted.

In his bestselling book “Ride of a Lifetime,” Iger provides a list of principles for how he leads and manages. But they come down to his ability to identify the core moving parts in a crisis and what the people need. That involves both analysis and empathy.

Brad Karp.

What is always dangerous is a fast start. Brad Karp, current Chairperson of Paul Weiss (a top 10 elite law firm), had just that in a profession that puts junior lawyers through a long slow-moving ordeal of proving themselves. As New York SuperLawyers chronicles, he immediately had attracted the attention of powerful mentors. By year two he had a role in Pennzoil’s epic fight against Texaco. Soon enough he wowed Wall Street in how he represented Citigroup. In 2008, he was a shoo-in for the Chairmanship post.

The most recent crisis Karp has found his way through has been negative media coverage. That had been associated with accounts he has represented, ranging from Apollo to Leon Black’s family office. Unlike ousted VW head Herbert Diess, Karp has nurtured allies. Those seemed to insulate him. When the timing was right he went on the offense with a breakthrough interview with Bloomberg Law.

In Insider, Karp indicates he might step down from the leadership postion when his contract is up in May 2023. Of course, he has myriad options for a Next. 

Bill Clinton.

This two-term US President had known both early success and early failure. He was the second youngest governor of Arkansas and the high-profile example of a politico who had lost it all by not being re-elected. As it has been played out in the media over and over again, the latter taught him life-long lessons about course correction and comebacks. He applied that in myriad other crises ranging from womanizing to his friendship with pariah Jeffrey Epstein.

Currently Clinton is an influencer on world affairs and a thought leader. Documentaries such as “Truth & Lies” showcase his ability to walk through crisis through seeming authenticity. He admits his bad judgement and equally bad behavior. He has retained an almost surreal connection with people. That might be rooted in, unlike his wife Hillary, not needing to be the smartest player in the room.

Tom Brady

The extreme celebrity of greatness as a quarterback could have destroyed Tom Brady. Instead he had maintained a solid brand of a kind of All-American Boy. That has allowed him to not lose public adoration when he switched teams, unretired after retiring, and became associated with the now-debunked Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

An example of how he managed crisis had been his embrace of legalities during 2015 Deflategate scandal. In an official report Brady had been accused of being aware of the tampering by the Patriots. He was to be suspended for four games. However, Brady pushed back and appealed in federal court. Judge Richard Berman agreed with him and the suspension had been tossed. His aura was restored.

From these four we can learn not to panic and run during crisis. Yes, we can stay in the now and figure out strategies to emerge whole or even better than when we got caught up in those perfect storms.

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