Defining Moments

Right versus Right 19

they bear the burden of difficult decisions even though they have

‘‘a boss’s responsibility without a boss’s authority.’’ Most are under

intense pressure to deliver the profits their company’s executives have

promised to shareholders. Restructuring and reengineering threaten

their jobs.

These pressures also distinguish their right-versus-right conflicts

from early-career issues like Steve Lewis’s. Young managers are some-

times advised to put aside six months’ salary as ‘‘go to hell’’ money.

In theory, these funds enable them to quit a bad job and spend time

finding a good one. But things are more complicated for managers

like Adario, because they are ‘‘in the middle’’ in yet another sense.

These men and women are often well along