THE DECISION

Over the course of the next two weeks, Vince experienced a struggle within himself about whether he would embrace or reject Rich O’Connor’s methodology. Rejection won.

After disparaging his rival for so long, he did not have the strength to suddenly change course and let the success of his own firm rest on the ideas of a competitor. Vince decided that he would win on his own terms, so he politely rejected Rich’s offer to purchase the retail division, and dedicated himself more than ever to growing the firm.

During the months that followed, Vince experienced sporadic periods of disappointment and frustration, especially when he saw examples of how his firm was not measuring up to Telegraph and its approach. For a while, he learned to ignore these feelings, but over time they began to haunt him.

Vince could not bear to spend time with his undeniably dysfunctional executive team, and the lack of any sense of culture or values became increasingly apparent. To make matters worse, during moments of weakness he suspected that relief might be just four disciplines away.

But even if he believed in them, those disciplines didn’t seem accessible to Vince. After all, he didn’t go into business so he could referee executive team meetings and deliver employee orientation. Vince loved strategy and competition, and that was it. He certainly didn’t have the stomach for focusing his energy on something as soft and uncertain as organizational health.

For the first time in his career, Vince felt he was losing his passion for business. He never thought that he would even consider what he was about to do.