In many cases, leaders at those organizations desperately try to return to the safety of a past that no longer exists. It’s a dangerous pursuit that generally ends in disaster. My answer to those seeking safety is always the same: The career expectations our parents had are about a past that will never return. There are no safe companies or careers

It is in seeking a path with no risk, no mistakes, and no variation (stable income, clear promotion path) that Max has in fact exposed himself to a massive downside—getting fired at forty without a skillset for creating new systems or operating in complex environments, the metaphorical car falling on his head.