Lenny RAG MCP Server

{ "episode": { "guest": "Alisa Cohn", "expertise_tags": [ "Executive Coach", "Leadership Development", "Difficult Conversations", "Founder Coaching", "Startup Culture", "Team Management" ], "summary": "Alisa Cohn, an executive coach who has worked with C-suite executives at startups like Etsy, Wirecutter, Venmo, and DraftKings, as well as Fortune 500 companies, shares practical scripts and frameworks for leaders. She covers how to handle difficult conversations including performance feedback, denying promotions, and terminations. She emphasizes that a leader's job is not to make employees happy but to drive results, and introduces tools like the founder prenup for co-founder alignment, meeting protocols with three closing questions, and personal operating manuals for team harmony.", "key_frameworks": [ "Observable facts feedback model", "Three-part meeting close (What did we decide? Who does what by when? Who else needs to know?)", "Founder Prenup (values, vision, conflict handling, decision-making, culture)", "Personal Operating Manual", "Hope for the future messaging", "Pause and redirect technique for defensive reactions" ] }, "topics": [ { "id": "topic_1", "title": "Reframing Difficult Conversations", "summary": "Lenny and Alisa discuss why leaders avoid difficult conversations and how understanding the deeper fears (making people upset, creating drama) can motivate better conversations. The key insight is that difficult conversations, while uncomfortable, often lead to positive outcomes and growth when done with the right intent.", "timestamp_start": "00:00:00", "timestamp_end": "00:08:23", "line_start": 1, "line_end": 75 }, { "id": "topic_2", "title": "Performance Feedback Scripts", "summary": "Alisa provides a detailed script for giving performance feedback using observable facts rather than judgments. The framework includes starting with what you've observed, explaining why it matters, and leaving the conversation with clear action items. The script emphasizes neutrality, evidence-based feedback, and building trust through positive feedback.", "timestamp_start": "00:08:50", "timestamp_end": "00:20:20", "line_start": 79, "line_end": 165 }, { "id": "topic_3", "title": "Handling Defensive Reactions During Feedback", "summary": "When an employee gets defensive or emotional during feedback, Alisa provides a specific script to pause the conversation, remind them of your intent, and offer to continue when emotions settle. She emphasizes that preparation for these reactions gives leaders tools beyond just reacting themselves.", "timestamp_start": "00:20:29", "timestamp_end": "00:25:07", "line_start": 169, "line_end": 209 }, { "id": "topic_4", "title": "Denying Promotions Script", "summary": "Alisa shares a script for delivering the difficult news that someone won't get promoted. The approach includes: being upfront with disappointing news, explaining the reasoning clearly, and always ending with hope for the future and commitment to their career development.", "timestamp_start": "00:25:24", "timestamp_end": "00:30:39", "line_start": 214, "line_end": 258 }, { "id": "topic_5", "title": "Final Warning Before Termination", "summary": "Before firing someone, leaders must have a crystal clear conversation about the problem and what needs to change. This conversation should reference previous feedback, set a specific timeline (e.g., 30 days), explain the consequences, and acknowledge the person's capabilities while establishing the deal breaker.", "timestamp_start": "00:31:05", "timestamp_end": "00:34:46", "line_start": 263, "line_end": 318 }, { "id": "topic_6", "title": "Firing Conversation Script", "summary": "The actual firing conversation should be simple and direct: reference prior conversations, state that changes haven't been made, announce the decision to part ways, and have HR present to handle logistics. It should be brief and not re-litigate the decision.", "timestamp_start": "00:35:05", "timestamp_end": "00:35:46", "line_start": 322, "line_end": 327 }, { "id": "topic_7", "title": "Positive Feedback and Delicate Conversations", "summary": "Leaders should give specific, well-crafted positive feedback with the same rigor as critical feedback. Praising concrete behaviors and outcomes builds morale and creates a reservoir of goodwill that makes difficult conversations easier. Many leaders underinvest in positive feedback.", "timestamp_start": "00:35:46", "timestamp_end": "00:37:59", "line_start": 328, "line_end": 344 }, { "id": "topic_8", "title": "Leadership Job Is Results, Not Happiness", "summary": "Alisa challenges the common belief that a leader's primary job is to make employees happy. Instead, leaders should focus on driving results, setting clear expectations, and creating a winning culture. Avoiding difficult conversations to protect feelings actually harms the company and the employee.", "timestamp_start": "00:39:09", "timestamp_end": "00:41:48", "line_start": 352, "line_end": 368 }, { "id": "topic_9", "title": "Case Study: Avocado Toast Company Culture", "summary": "Alisa shares a story of a founder who focused on employee happiness through social events and perks but failed to set clear expectations or codify results-driven culture. This led to gossip, cliques, and poor results. The founder had to address toxic people and refocus on results-oriented culture.", "timestamp_start": "00:41:57", "timestamp_end": "00:44:56", "line_start": 371, "line_end": 386 }, { "id": "topic_10", "title": "Founder Blind Spots and Leadership Evolution", "summary": "Successful founders and leaders must discover their blind spots. Alisa shares an example of a visionary founder who didn't see that her role required creating structure and accountability, not just inspiration. Leaders must adjust their style to match what their organization actually needs.", "timestamp_start": "00:46:01", "timestamp_end": "00:49:19", "line_start": 397, "line_end": 417 }, { "id": "topic_11", "title": "Meeting Effectiveness: Three Closing Questions", "summary": "Alisa presents three critical questions to close every meeting: What did we decide? Who needs to do what by when? Who else needs to know? These ensure clarity, accountability, and information sharing. She emphasizes that even in the same meeting, six people often have six different understandings of decisions.", "timestamp_start": "00:50:01", "timestamp_end": "00:55:42", "line_start": 421, "line_end": 456 }, { "id": "topic_12", "title": "The Founder Prenup: Context and Purpose", "summary": "65% of startups fail due to founder conflict. A founder prenup is a set of conversations co-founders should have before starting a company. Alisa explains the importance of alignment on core values, vision, conflict handling, decision-making, and culture before combining lives and business.", "timestamp_start": "00:56:41", "timestamp_end": "00:57:36", "line_start": 466, "line_end": 470 }, { "id": "topic_13", "title": "Founder Prenup: Values Alignment", "summary": "Co-founders should clarify their core values and look for alignment or adjacent values. Values like excellence and learning work together, but excellence and work-life balance can be at odds. Having explicit conversations prevents misunderstandings about priorities and working styles.", "timestamp_start": "00:58:01", "timestamp_end": "01:00:25", "line_start": 473, "line_end": 491 }, { "id": "topic_14", "title": "Founder Prenup: Vision and Success Definition", "summary": "Co-founders must align on what success looks like for the company. One founder may want to stay small and know everyone, while another envisions venture-scale growth. These differences must be explicit before they lead to painful reckoning years into the company.", "timestamp_start": "01:02:01", "timestamp_end": "01:04:01", "line_start": 511, "line_end": 530 }, { "id": "topic_15", "title": "Founder Prenup: Conflict Handling Styles", "summary": "Co-founders should discuss their conflict styles by asking both themselves and people close to them. One founder may want to address conflict immediately while another needs time to process. Mismatched styles create conflict about the conflict itself.", "timestamp_start": "01:04:01", "timestamp_end": "01:05:22", "line_start": 532, "line_end": 539 }, { "id": "topic_16", "title": "Founder Prenup: Decision-Making Process", "summary": "Co-founders should agree on how they'll decide when they disagree. Options include: whoever cares most wins, whoever has most expertise wins, alternating wins, or other frameworks. Having this discussed upfront prevents unproductive conflicts.", "timestamp_start": "01:06:41", "timestamp_end": "01:07:12", "line_start": 554, "line_end": 558 }, { "id": "topic_17", "title": "Founder Prenup: Culture Definition", "summary": "Co-founders often assume they want the same culture without discussing. One may envision a family-like, supportive environment while the other wants ruthless execution. These can coexist but require explicit alignment to prevent feeling like two different companies.", "timestamp_start": "01:07:14", "timestamp_end": "01:08:24", "line_start": 562, "line_end": 567 }, { "id": "topic_18", "title": "Failure Story: Early Coaching Career Crisis", "summary": "Alisa shares hitting rock bottom early in her coaching career, crying on her apartment floor for an hour from fear and overwhelm. She recovered by taking action, making calls, and persisting. This taught her that you must keep moving forward even in your darkest moments.", "timestamp_start": "01:09:04", "timestamp_end": "01:10:32", "line_start": 571, "line_end": 576 }, { "id": "topic_19", "title": "Failure Story: Failed Offsite", "summary": "Early in her coaching career, a client wanted to end an offsite mid-way through. Rather than giving up, Alisa took training and coaching to improve her offsite facilitation skills, eventually becoming excellent at this work. She transformed the failure into fuel for skill-building.", "timestamp_start": "01:10:56", "timestamp_end": "01:12:31", "line_start": 586, "line_end": 592 }, { "id": "topic_20", "title": "Process vs. Patience: Recognizing What You Need", "summary": "Leaders must distinguish between situations requiring patience and those requiring process problem-solving. If you can't envision how something will work out, there's no clear plan, or there's uncomfortable silence, you likely need to investigate and solve a process problem, not just wait.", "timestamp_start": "01:13:10", "timestamp_end": "01:15:09", "line_start": 601, "line_end": 612 }, { "id": "topic_21", "title": "Personal Operating Manual for Team Alignment", "summary": "Beyond founder prenups, teams should use a Personal Operating Manual to discuss working styles. Questions cover communication preferences, work environment needs (blocks vs. meetings), pet peeves, how to earn gold stars, and delegation style. This prevents assumptions and conflicts.", "timestamp_start": "01:15:21", "timestamp_end": "01:17:13", "line_start": 622, "line_end": 641 } ], "insights": [ { "id": "insight_1", "text": "When you're enlightening someone or working out a situation and don't give them the opportunity to hear your feedback, you deny them the chance to see something differently, improve, or improve the relationship.", "context": "On why difficult conversations matter despite discomfort", "topic_id": "topic_1", "line_start": 70, "line_end": 72 }, { "id": "insight_2", "text": "Through the discomfort of difficult conversations can come a whole new possibility, revelation, and often joy and freedom. We forget about possibilities and just focus on the uncomfortable parts.", "context": "Reframing what comes out of difficult conversations", "topic_id": "topic_1", "line_start": 73, "line_end": 75 }, { "id": "insight_3", "text": "Your job as a leader and manager is to help people out of problems and help them do something different by giving them constructive feedback, not to hurt their feelings.", "context": "Core purpose of difficult conversations", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 91, "line_end": 93 }, { "id": "insight_4", "text": "Use observable facts rather than judgments when giving feedback. Ask yourself: what is my evidence that this is happening? This makes feedback easier for you to give and easier for them to hear.", "context": "Framework for giving feedback", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 157, "line_end": 165 }, { "id": "insight_5", "text": "Building trust with people is essential. Have positive feedback conversations so they understand that when something works, you tell them, and when something doesn't work, you also tell them.", "context": "On creating psychological safety through consistent feedback", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 133, "line_end": 135 }, { "id": "insight_6", "text": "Being as neutral and matter-of-fact as possible about feedback conveys that you're not mad or attacking them. An even-keeled tone matters as much as the words.", "context": "On tone and delivery of feedback", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 121, "line_end": 123 }, { "id": "insight_7", "text": "When someone gets defensive during feedback, preparing yourself with a response script means you don't have to react defensively yourself. Having another tool prevents escalation.", "context": "On managing your own reactions during difficult conversations", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 170, "line_end": 174 }, { "id": "insight_8", "text": "Hope for the future is essential when delivering bad news about promotions. People need to know you care about their career and will continue helping them succeed, even when disappointing them.", "context": "Elements of promotion denial script", "topic_id": "topic_4", "line_start": 223, "line_end": 225 }, { "id": "insight_9", "text": "When people go home disappointed, they tell their spouse and it looms large. By signaling you care about their feelings and career, you help them stay resilient and engaged, even in setbacks.", "context": "Why showing you care matters in difficult conversations", "topic_id": "topic_4", "line_start": 243, "line_end": 246 }, { "id": "insight_10", "text": "Before firing someone, they should never be surprised. Multiple prior conversations about the problem are essential so firing doesn't come out of nowhere.", "context": "On progressive discipline and clarity", "topic_id": "topic_5", "line_start": 268, "line_end": 270 }, { "id": "insight_11", "text": "If you're uncertain whether you've been crystal clear with someone about expectations, you probably haven't been. Get crystal clear before considering termination.", "context": "Self-assessment for clarity before firing", "topic_id": "topic_5", "line_start": 271, "line_end": 273 }, { "id": "insight_12", "text": "Good positive feedback should meet the same standard as critical feedback: specific, observable, outcome-focused. 'Good job' is lazy feedback; specific praise motivates.", "context": "On the quality of positive feedback", "topic_id": "topic_7", "line_start": 329, "line_end": 333 }, { "id": "insight_13", "text": "A leader's job is not to make employees happy; it's to drive results. Avoiding difficult feedback to keep people happy ultimately leads to company demise and poor employee performance.", "context": "Core leadership philosophy", "topic_id": "topic_8", "line_start": 355, "line_end": 358 }, { "id": "insight_14", "text": "High engagement comes from winning culture: clear structure, understood roles, visible impact, achieved milestones, and celebrated wins. This requires sometimes ruffling feathers.", "context": "How to actually create engagement", "topic_id": "topic_8", "line_start": 360, "line_end": 363 }, { "id": "insight_15", "text": "Culture isn't perks and social time; it's how you get work done. Culture is values like 'we go the extra mile' or 'we measure twice, cut once' - not avocado toast.", "context": "Defining culture properly", "topic_id": "topic_9", "line_start": 376, "line_end": 378 }, { "id": "insight_16", "text": "Founders want to reinvent leadership, but the proven ways to structure organizations (process, hierarchy, roles, goals, OKRs) exist for a reason. It's helpful to get through the reinvention phase quickly.", "context": "On founder maverick impulses vs. proven frameworks", "topic_id": "topic_10", "line_start": 413, "line_end": 417 }, { "id": "insight_17", "text": "Six people in the same meeting often leave with six different understandings of what was decided. Explicitly asking 'What did we decide?' surfaces these gaps.", "context": "On meeting clarity and alignment", "topic_id": "topic_11", "line_start": 430, "line_end": 432 }, { "id": "insight_18", "text": "Many executive teams make decisions in private meetings then forget to tell anyone else. 'Who else needs to know?' is a critical question that's often overlooked.", "context": "On information cascading in organizations", "topic_id": "topic_11", "line_start": 427, "line_end": 428 }, { "id": "insight_19", "text": "65% of startups fail because of founder conflict. Talking through values, vision, conflict styles, and decision-making before starting is essential.", "context": "Statistics on founder conflict and its prevention", "topic_id": "topic_12", "line_start": 467, "line_end": 468 }, { "id": "insight_20", "text": "Co-founders should clarify values because when someone acts differently, it might not be strange behavior - they're just living according to different values. Understanding those values prevents conflict.", "context": "On values alignment with co-founders", "topic_id": "topic_13", "line_start": 477, "line_end": 480 }, { "id": "insight_21", "text": "Small communication differences like not responding to weekend Slack messages can become major conflict if not addressed. What appears as distance might be about boundaries around work-life balance.", "context": "Case study of conflict from unspoken values", "topic_id": "topic_13", "line_start": 487, "line_end": 489 }, { "id": "insight_22", "text": "If you're just hoping something will work out instead of seeing a clear path to success, there's a process problem you need to investigate and solve.", "context": "Distinguishing between patience and process problems", "topic_id": "topic_20", "line_start": 610, "line_end": 612 }, { "id": "insight_23", "text": "Nobody knows your operating style or preferences until you tell them. The more you showcase your style, the better people can work with you and vice versa.", "context": "On personal operating manuals and explicit communication", "topic_id": "topic_21", "line_start": 641, "line_end": 642 }, { "id": "insight_24", "text": "Ask deeper questions not just to respond to what someone said, but to understand where they're coming from. This is the essential skill for coaching and better leadership.", "context": "On coaching and leadership skills", "topic_id": "topic_21", "line_start": 719, "line_end": 720 } ], "examples": [ { "id": "example_1", "explicit_text": "At Airbnb, one of the things that I loved most was our experimentation platform where I could set up experiments, easily troubleshoot issues, and analyze all on my own.", "inferred_identity": "Lenny Rachitsky worked at Airbnb", "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "Airbnb", "experimentation", "A/B testing", "product management", "feature analysis" ], "lesson": "Having accessible tools for experimentation enables individual contributors to move quickly without dependencies, leading to faster learning and iteration.", "topic_id": "topic_11", "line_start": 23, "line_end": 24 }, { "id": "example_2", "explicit_text": "One of my clients, he was running a division and one of his people was not doing it right, not doing it right, not getting the right kind of data, not having to do the right kind of analysis...She cried. Of course she did. She cried. That's what he knew she was going to do. And so she was upset and she went home early and the whole thing. The next day she came in and she said, 'Thank you so much for telling me that. I wish someone had told me that 15 years ago.'", "inferred_identity": "Client of Alisa Cohn's executive coaching", "confidence": "medium", "tags": [ "difficult conversations", "performance feedback", "career growth", "delayed feedback", "employee relief" ], "lesson": "Employees often want feedback even when it's difficult. Delayed feedback can hurt career development more than honest feedback. The initial emotional reaction isn't the final outcome.", "topic_id": "topic_3", "line_start": 97, "line_end": 101 }, { "id": "example_3", "explicit_text": "Etsy, Wirecutter, Venmo, and DraftKings, along with Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, and the New York Times", "inferred_identity": "Companies that Alisa Cohn has worked with", "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "startup coaching", "enterprise coaching", "executive coaching", "scale-up", "Fortune 500" ], "lesson": "Effective coaches work across the spectrum from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies, suggesting their frameworks are universally applicable.", "topic_id": "topic_1", "line_start": 19, "line_end": 20 }, { "id": "example_4", "explicit_text": "The best story I've heard to make that really real for me, I think it was Kim Scott when she came on the podcast. She told a story of, I think it was Bob, where everyone just knew he was terrible and it was like, everyone's was just like knew he was not good and eventually, the boss had a conversation with him eight months into it and told him, 'It's not going to work out. You're just doing a bad job.' And he's like, 'Why didn't anyone tell me? I didn't realize that. If you told me, I would've changed.'", "inferred_identity": "Kim Scott's 'Radical Candor' book example referenced by Lenny", "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "delayed feedback", "performance issues", "communication breakdown", "career impact", "Radical Candor" ], "lesson": "Waiting 8 months to tell someone they're underperforming wastes time and is unfair. People deserve early, clear feedback so they can improve.", "topic_id": "topic_2", "line_start": 94, "line_end": 96 }, { "id": "example_5", "explicit_text": "One company comes to mind. One leader I worked with...he wants to do right by his workforce. And so they have avocado toast at 10 AM, like tea time kind of a thing. And it became this great ritual where people would kind of hang out together and that was great. And then that turned into other longer periods of just hanging out together...they continued to be not fully clear on what they were actually supposed to do...there began to be kind of a cliquey, gossipy culture of who's in and who's out.", "inferred_identity": "Client company Alisa Cohn coached", "confidence": "medium", "tags": [ "company culture", "founder mistake", "perks vs. results", "lack of expectations", "social cohesion", "startup culture" ], "lesson": "Focusing on employee happiness through perks without clear expectations leads to gossip, cliques, and poor results. Culture must be about how work gets done, not just social rituals.", "topic_id": "topic_9", "line_start": 373, "line_end": 381 }, { "id": "example_6", "explicit_text": "I worked with a founder who she wanted to be was a visionary leader, which is fantastic...what she didn't see is that what her company needed was somebody to structure and hold people accountable and help them create goals and achieve milestones and course correct when they got off course.", "inferred_identity": "Founder coached by Alisa Cohn", "confidence": "medium", "tags": [ "founder blind spot", "visionary leadership", "operations", "structure", "accountability", "execution" ], "lesson": "Visionary founders must balance inspiration with operational structure. If you skip the hard work of setting expectations and accountability, your company spins.", "topic_id": "topic_10", "line_start": 397, "line_end": 402 }, { "id": "example_7", "explicit_text": "Joe Gebbia at Airbnb. He was very anti-process at the beginning of Airbnb. He's like, 'We're not going to have a process. I hate process. We're going to run... That's the big company stuff.' And then it just chaos constantly. And then eventually it's like, 'Okay, we need to have some process to how we build things.'", "inferred_identity": "Joe Gebbia, Airbnb co-founder", "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "Airbnb", "founder learning", "process", "structure", "chaos", "founder evolution" ], "lesson": "Even innovative founders must eventually embrace process and structure as they scale. Resisting proven organizational frameworks creates chaos.", "topic_id": "topic_10", "line_start": 404, "line_end": 410 }, { "id": "example_8", "explicit_text": "Sheryl Sandberg came to talk at Airbnb once and people are asking, 'What do you do with all this...? We're just constantly in chaos...I'm on different teams every six months. Our goals are shifting.' And she's like, 'That is a sign of hyper growth and success. And the opposite is even worse when you are not growing.'", "inferred_identity": "Sheryl Sandberg at Airbnb", "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "Airbnb", "hyper-growth", "organizational change", "chaos", "success signals", "founder perspective" ], "lesson": "Organizational turbulence during hyper-growth is a sign of success, not failure. The alternative of stagnation is worse.", "topic_id": "topic_10", "line_start": 389, "line_end": 392 }, { "id": "example_9", "explicit_text": "Two co-founders I worked with...five or six years into the company, and the company was going well, but it was challenging...one of them would said to me wistfully...He said to me, 'Gosh, I don't see why we have to grow. I just wish we could actually have fewer employees. And I used to love it when I knew everybody's name and I would just much prefer an environment where we didn't have to grow.' Well, unfortunately, they were already venture backed and also, the other co-founder had a very lofty ambition for a very big company.", "inferred_identity": "Co-founders coached by Alisa Cohn", "confidence": "medium", "tags": [ "founder misalignment", "growth ambitions", "venture backing", "founder conflict", "vision mismatch", "late recognition" ], "lesson": "Founders misaligned on growth ambitions create major pain 5-6 years in, when it's too late to change. This conversation should happen before venture funding.", "topic_id": "topic_14", "line_start": 515, "line_end": 516 }, { "id": "example_10", "explicit_text": "One of the founders I worked with, he would text or Slack his co-founder on weekends and the co-founder wouldn't respond. And that was extremely frustrating to the person, to the co-founder I was talking to. And it turned out, after they finally addressed it, it really was about wanting to have some downtime and some, quote unquote, 'Balance.'", "inferred_identity": "Co-founders coached by Alisa Cohn", "confidence": "medium", "tags": [ "founder conflict", "work-life balance", "communication styles", "values misalignment", "assumptions", "boundary-setting" ], "lesson": "Small communication patterns that seem problematic often reflect different values around work-life balance. Addressing them early prevents resentment.", "topic_id": "topic_13", "line_start": 488, "line_end": 489 }, { "id": "example_11", "explicit_text": "Noam Wasserstein, 65% of startups fail because of conflict with founders or the founding team.", "inferred_identity": "Noam Wasserstein's research on startup failure", "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "startup failure", "founder conflict", "research statistic", "co-founder dynamics", "team conflict" ], "lesson": "Founder conflict is the leading cause of startup failure, making prenup conversations statistically critical.", "topic_id": "topic_12", "line_start": 467, "line_end": 468 }, { "id": "example_12", "explicit_text": "When I first started my coaching practice, I just kind of started and so I just did everything I could to get clients, to build a business, to build a practice, to build my brand, all the things. And I was working so hard...I got onto the floor, my hardwood floors in my Brookline condo, and I just balled in the fetal position. I just balled and balled and balled for an hour.", "inferred_identity": "Alisa Cohn's early coaching career, Brookline condo", "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "founder panic", "entrepreneurship", "fear", "early stage struggle", "emotional crisis", "resilience" ], "lesson": "Even successful coaches hit rock bottom. The ability to recover and keep taking action despite fear determines success.", "topic_id": "topic_18", "line_start": 571, "line_end": 576 }, { "id": "example_13", "explicit_text": "This was early, early days of my coaching career and I was doing this off site and it wasn't going well...At one point she said something like, 'I just think we should end this offsite. I just think we should just decide it's over and it's not working.'", "inferred_identity": "Alisa Cohn's early coaching client", "confidence": "medium", "tags": [ "coaching failure", "offsite facilitation", "client dissatisfaction", "early career setback", "skill development" ], "lesson": "Professional failures can become your biggest strength if you invest in skill-building. Alisa's offsite failure led to her becoming excellent at facilitation.", "topic_id": "topic_19", "line_start": 586, "line_end": 591 } ] }