You don't believe in Santa Claus. You are Santa Claus. You look like Santa Claus. Corporate leaders go through similar stages. As they move up the ranks during the second stage, experience sharpens their skepticism about the vagaries of corporate life.
Years pass with many successes and some failures.
They enjoy the fruits of their labors in stage three, while sharing their knowledge and experience with those they mentor. They start to show the scars of leadership, but the demands of the job don't let up. They must still negotiate the minefields of competition, cost-cutting, and perhaps layoffs, even as they deliver better quality, lower prices, and faster innovation. This is a true story of one corporate leader who survived the first three stages and recently entered the fourth. But during a three-year period, he experienced a string of setbacks that undermined his health.