Vibrant stories of well-known execs who failed spectacularly as senior executives of major corporations. Bob Nardelli, Dick Fuld. What do they have in common? Both were execs in huge corporations and resigned under less-than honorable circumstances. What derailed them? During Nardelli's tenure as CEO at Home Depot, he collected a tidy $240 million while his company's stock stayed flat as that of its biggest competitor, Lowe's, doubled. It's hard to tell what sunk him in the end: was it stockholder disgust or his hardnosed and autocratic style? He was ousted in 2007. Fuld was the last CEO of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., which led America's banks into bankruptcy in 2008. Employees were left with nothing in their hard-earned retirement accounts, and no severance packages at all, while stockholders fared no better. The story of the fallen CEO has become a cultural fixture: veering off course with the force of a train careening off its tracks, leaving fiery wreckage and devastating injury throughout the organization. These executives are often the smartest and most respected individuals in their industries, with glittering resumes and histories of successful leadership. Yet they astonish us by driving the train dramatically off course, blinded by unchecked power and arrogance. Dr. Tim Irwin believes that these leaders suffer from failures of character that are common to each of us-even the most capable individuals. Deficits in authenticity, humility, self-management, and courage become more dangerous as we take on more leadership, and can cause us to ignore glaring signals that might otherwise save us from catastrophic demise. "Derailed" chronicles the collapse of six high-profile CEOs and the factors that drove their downfalls, finding that derailment actually happens long before the crash and can be avoided. Tim Irwin explains the character qualities that are essential for successful leadership and tells us how to cultivate them so that we can avoid derailing our own careers. Endorsements: "A must read for those in and for all who aspire to leadership. Shelves are full of how-to books listing various formulas of what-to-do for success. Missing is a closer look at what-not-to-do to avoid derailment Irwin fills this vacuum with his analysis of corporate leadership failures. He's hit a home run identifying those primary pitfalls experienced by well known business leaders that resulted in their dismissal. We all can learn from this insightful study and copies should be required reading for all corporate officers."-"Ron F. Wagley; Chairman, CEO, and President, Transamerica Insurance (ret)" "CEOs are the new royalty. Sometimes these anointed kings are generous, insightful and use their power wisely. Other times they fall prey to the same hubris and tone deafness that felled the kings in the golden ages. There are useful lessons here for everyone, crowned or not."-"Seth Godin, Author, "Tribes""