Mark S. Walton - Boundless Potential

Also by Mark S. Walton

Generating Buy-In: Mastering
the Language of Leadership

Copyright 2012 by Mark S. Walton. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-178786-4
MHID: 0-07-178786-0

The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-178785-7, MHID: 0-07-178785-2.

All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.

McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. To contact a representative please e-mail us at bulksales@mcgraw-hill.com.

TERMS OF USE

This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (McGraw-Hill) and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hills prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms.

THE WORK IS PROVIDED AS IS. McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise.

To Jane with much love.
May our world fully realize
its boundless potential.
Pass it on.

Thy lifes a miracle.
Speak yet again.

King Lear, IV, vi, 55

Meeting on the Edge of Tomorrow

Change is the law of life.
And those who look only to the past or present are
certain to miss the future.
John F. Kennedy

Nearly twenty-seven centuries ago, the Greeks invented the first reality showsort of an Olympic Idol of the times.

Today, we know it as the decathlon.

Ten separate events over two grueling days, in competitive running, jumping, hurdling, shot put, pole vault, and javelintests designed to rip apart the body, mind, and soul through inherently contradictory demands: the need to gain strength without losing speed, conserve energy while extending distance, boost performance here without deteriorating elsewhere.

At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Bruce Jenner, the American contender, showed the world how the decathlon could be won. He not only took home the gold medal, but with 8,617 combined points, he also set a new record in this ancient contestan achievement that qualified him for the title Worlds Greatest Athlete.

With global television audiences cheering him on, Bruce ran an impromptu victory lap around the field, gave his wife a congratulatory kiss, and, exiting the stadium, put down his vaulting poles for the last time.

I always dreamed of winning the Games, said the champion, who had prepared relentlessly for this moment.

Yet the reality was more like a nightmare. As champagne corks popped in his honor that evening, Bruce sat alone in his hotel suite overlooking the Olympic cityand cried.

Its like learning to play the piano. You sit in front of it for years, and you have a chance to play the most beautiful music in the world, and when its over, you put your hands in your pockets and you never play that music again.

I have no plans, he told an interviewer. What will I do tomorrow?

Ive never run, let alone won, a decathlon. But Im not sure we need to in order to see ourselves in Bruces story.

We complete our degrees. We set out to develop an expertise; build a career; raise a family; start a practice, business, or organization. Over the years, and despite the odds, sacrifices, complexities, and competition, we achieve our objectives.

We taste our personal Olympic dreams.

Then, at some pointoften when we least expect itan unwelcome, even harrowing new uncertainty appears.

For some of us, the problem surfaces suddenlythe economy takes a hit; business conditions change; our jobs, homes, or investments are impacted; our future plans are disrupted or derailed. First its shock, and then you get angry, said one pink-slipped 47-year-old executive, and then you wonder, What am I going to do?

For others, the doubts start bubbling up gradually. We find ourselves restless, dissatisfied and unchallenged at work. Or, having sampled the retirement lifestyle, we feel trapped, disillusioned, and incomplete as we gaze at the road ahead.

However the dilemma first arrives, it brings with it a set of concerns that grows disturbingly present and clear:

Should I try to continue the kind of work Ive done? Will I be able to? Is that what I really want anyway? Is it worth the effort to try?

Maybe I should do something new. But what would it be? How hard would I have to work? How much money could I earn? Would I need to make an upfront investment? What if it doesnt pan out?

Maybe I should just forget it. Ill kick back and relax. But what will I do with my time? How many years do I have ahead of me? How long will I be able to afford it?

With questions such as these in mind, I trust that you will appreciate what drove me to visit Aspen, Colorado, in the summer before my fifty-fifth birthday.

Despite their beauty, it was not the rocky mountain trails or luminescent rivers. Nor was it the splendid festivals or intense political dialogues at the famed Aspen Institute that Id heard about for so many years.