ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the findings of Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen confirm the importance of key resilience aspects as a condition for success. It explores that successful careers are also shaped by the choices people make, for instance regarding the type of education, career steps and locations people choose. The chapter discuses the importance of a good set of individual competencies, values, meaning and market demands. Long-term professional success correlates strongly with good leadership skills and a high degree of resilience. The chapter focuses on more evidence regarding the importance of mental agility for professional well-being in a VUCA world. Success has less to do with unwaveringly pursuing some internal master plan, than with taking advantage of the more or less subtle opportunities life has to offer. The long-term success of top managers is, therefore, not merely an accident, but can very frequently be attributed to certain factors.
