Defining Moments

6

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Become Who You Are

T

HIS CHAPTER EXAMINES THE PERSONAL ASPECTS

of the task

of revealing, testing, and shaping. It asks what considerations

are most important and what guidance seems most useful.

This is a complicated subject. The best place to begin the search

for answers is a relatively simple right-versus-right problem, like

the one Steve Lewis, the apprentice investment banker, had to

resolve. Recall his dilemma. He was asked, on very short notice,

to attend an important client presentation. Although saying yes

would help his firm and his career, Lewis was reluctant to go. The

proposed assignment was purely decorative: his role at the meeting

was to serve as an African-American potted plant.

Lewis faced a defining moment. His decision, whatever it