Rather than building strategy around the people they have, organizations should develop a better understanding of the roles that will be most critical in executing the most promising strategy, and then putting top performers in those positions. The authors demonstrate how this can be accomplished using data analysis and examples from professional soccer and the retail industry.

Volatility in an industry should concern not only the companies within it but also the people who work for them. To stay ahead of developments that may disrupt your professional life, you must make two evidence-based diagnoses: How volatile is your industry? And what explains the volatility? The answers will equip you to disrupt your own career preemptively

Executives with scandal-tainted companies on their resumes pay a penalty on the job market, even if they clearly had nothing to do with the trouble. Because the scandal effect is lasting, a company you left long ago could have an impact on your current and future job mobility, not to mention your compensation. Overall, executives who suffer from the effect are paid nearly 4% less than their peers. You can't control this risk, the authors write, but you can and should plan for it. They offer three steps to help you survive a corporate scandal. (1) Be forthright. Transparency and full disclosure are key to overcoming the stigma. Executive recruiters, who do due diligence on candidates, can help you create a full, clear, and succinct narrative for hiring managers. (2) "Borrow" reputation and legitimacy from others in your network, establishing innocence by association. Executive search firms can also act as references and sponsors. (3) Take a "rehab job," one at which you so clearly excel that it creates a persuasive story to compete with the scandal narrative.

Financial executive Alexi is considering a job change. Will his long-ago association with a company currently embroiled in a scandal hurt his chances in the job market? In the (A) case, Alexi and executive search consultant Marguerite strategize about career opportunities.

Supplement to case 116059. Alexi has been hired as CFO for a medical start-up, despite the controversy over his former company. The (B) cases focuses on how to introduce new, high-profile leaders to stakeholders inside and outside the organization.