… and Luck: Sometimes it Really Matters

Exemplifying as to how luck influenced various people and incidents at McKinsey, the Mayo Clinic, Capital Group, Cravath and Goldman Sachs, this chapter illustrates that every successful person, every successful organization, and most happily married couples can cite those pivotal instances when luck entered in and made a decisive difference. Every great firm can find moments in its history when, no matter how inevitable the rise to triumph may appear in retrospect, a decisive factor along the way was good luck. Some instances of luck make delightful stories but are not particularly important. Others matter greatly.