I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on Jim Collins’ book What to Make of a Life. In a previous article, I wrote about his concept of "encodings," those innate gifts and hardwired curiosities inside each of us. But Collins also addresses what happens when life completely upends those encodings.

He calls these moments Cliffs.

A cliff is a major milestone or sudden disruption that forces a fundamental reassessment of who you are. Cliffs can be negative like a sudden layoff, a corporate restructuring, an unwanted forced retirement, a natural disaster, or the devastating loss of a loved one. But cliffs can also be positive like graduating with a hard-earned degree or certification, coming into an unexpected windfall of wealth, watching your last child leave for college, or stepping into retirement.

In every case, the terrain under your feet disappears. What used to define your days is suddenly gone.

And almost always, right off the edge of a cliff, lies the Fog.

The fog is that disorienting, uncomfortable season between the end of one major chapter and the discovery of your next "hedgehog," that singular, worthy pursuit you choose to dedicate your life to next.

Even the Most Gifted Get Stuck in the Fog

If you find yourself in a fog right now, it is easy to feel isolated or assume you’ve lost your way. But Collins’ comparative studies reveal a comforting truth: even the most talented, world-class individuals experience long, difficult seasons in the fog. This is a truth I’ve known for some time. As a long-time church attender, I’ve heard multiple pastors tell the audience that they’re in one of three possible positions. You’re either heading into a storm, in the storm, or coming out of it. Storms don’t discriminate.    

In What to Make of a Life, Collins contrasts two iconic performers: actor Michael J. Fox and Maurice White, founder and lead singer of Earth, Wind & Fire.

Growing up, I loved watching Michael J. Fox on Family Ties and his portrayal of Alex P. Keaton, the energetic, humorous and magnetic teenage boy. Maurice White, meanwhile, built one of the most legendary musical groups in history. Both men had dedicated their entire lives to a single encoding in entertainment—acting and music.

Then came an unforeseen cliff: both were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The physical reality forced Fox off the screen and White off the stage. Their identities were stripped away. What struck me most in Collins' book was how long both men spent in the fog. It took seven years before Michael J. Fox redirected his life toward creating the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has since raised over $1 billion for Parkinson's research. For Maurice White, it took eight years of quiet recalibration before he pivoted from performing to producing, helping mentor young musicians, and contributing his voice behind the scenes.

If it takes world-class icons seven or eight years to navigate their way through a life-altering cliff, we need to give ourselves a lot more grace when we find ourselves in the fog.

My Own Cliffs: From College Athletics to Executive Leadership, and Beyond

I have stood at the edge of several cliffs in my own life.

The first major one happened in college when I made the painful decision to walk away from being a student-athlete and quit basketball. A large chunk of my identity up to that point was wrapped up in being an athlete. Walking away left me completely disoriented. It took a few years in the fog before a new path emerged, one that ultimately led to a 22-year corporate career.

My most recent cliff came just a few years ago when I decided to retire from Texas Instruments.

I had spent over two decades at TI, serving at the highest levels of the enterprise as a direct report to the CEO, sitting on the Corporate Finance Executive Council for nine years, and working alongside colleagues who had become like a second family. Stepping off that corporate ledge to launch my executive coaching firm, Bonafide Leaders, was a massive transition.

Now in my fourth year as an entrepreneur, I can candidly tell you: I am just now beginning to hit my stride. The deep comfort and established identity I enjoyed for 20+ years at TI wasn't something I could recreate overnight. Navigating that shift has taken time, patience, and humility.

The Power of "Simplex Stepping"

How do you navigate a cliff when you can’t see two feet in front of you?

Collins highlights a brilliant strategy called Simplex Stepping. Which seemed to be the norm for the dozens of people he and his team studied for the book. Most of the subjects did not set out for greatness, they simply found themselves there after taking a series of steps built on their encodings. 

When you are deep in the fog, you don't need a 10-year master plan. Yes, a life vision can be helpful, but you don't need to have your entire next identity figured out. You just need to take the next best, logical step. A simple, clear action that moves you forward, even if you don't know exactly where the path will end up.

Michael J. Fox didn't launch a billion-dollar foundation on day one; he took one small step, then another. Cardiss Collins, who stepped into her late husband's congressional seat during a season of profound grief, didn't set out to serve 25 years in Congress; she simply answered a call to serve, took the next step, and unlocked a trailblazing legacy.

A Word to Corporate Executives and Leaders

In the corporate world, minor cliffs happen constantly.

You get reassigned to a new division. Your company gets acquired. Your long-time boss leaves. Your role is eliminated in a restructuring. Or, after decades of climbing the ladder, you reach the top only to ask yourself, "Is this all there is?"

Here is the central truth I’ve learned through my own transitions and through coaching high-stakes leaders: Your identity cannot be solely anchored in what you do professionally.

If your sense of worth is tied entirely to your title, your P&L size, or your corporate affiliation, any organizational shift will feel like a fatal fall. But if your identity is grounded in something bigger, your core values, your integrity, and your commitment to growth, a cliff isn't the end of your story. It’s just the beginning of a transition.

If you are standing on a cliff or wandering through the fog today, whether in your career or your personal life, know this:

1. You are not alone. Every leader faces cliffs.
2. The fog is temporary. It is a season of recalibration, not a permanent state.
3. Focus on Simplex Stepping. Don't worry about the next decade. Just take the next right step.

Eventually, the fog clears. And the terrain on the other side may be far richer than the ground you left behind.

Navigating a major executive career transition or organizational shift? Schedule a strategic conversation with Bonafide Leaders to discover how executive coaching can help you navigate the fog, recalibrate your identity, and maximize your enterprise impact.

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