The CEO's Reckoning: Rebuilding a Career, One Day at a Time

I had everything. The corner office, the six-figure salary, the respect of my peers. I was the guy people called when they needed to get things done. What I also had was a drinking problem that I'd convinced myself was just "success maintenance"—a way to unwind, to medicate the stress, to keep up with the executive crowd.

Then I lost a $50 million deal because I was drunk in a board meeting. Not obviously drunk—I thought I was hiding it perfectly. But my CFO saw it. My board saw it. And worse, I saw it reflected in the mirror that night when I got home and couldn't remember the last two hours.