Introduction When our company was sold, my executive role ended. One day I was on point, on call, and fully engaged—just as I had been for more than twenty years—and the next day, I was not. There was no go-forward role for me. I handed off the baton, mission accomplished. For the first time in my professional life, I did not immediately create a plan or set goals. I allowed space for reflection rather than reaction. What emerged from that time was profound: a renewed underst
