CHAPTER 1
Prepare Yourself
After eight years in marketing at a leading consumer electronics
company, Julia Gould was promoted to lead a major new prod-
uct development project. Up to that point, her track record had
been stellar. Her intelligence, focus, and determination had won
her recognition and early promotion to increasingly senior posi-
tions. The company had designated her as a high-potential and
had positioned her on the fast track to senior leadership.
Julia was assigned to be the launch manager for one of the com-
pany’s hottest new products. It was her responsibility to coordi-
nate the work of a cross-functional team drawn from marketing,
sales, R&D, and manufacturing. The goal: to seamlessly move
the product from R&D to production, ...