Back in 2011, I was Director of Sales and Business Development (including retail), which morphed into a Director of Retail position for the World's Largest Bicycle Brand, a $2bn brand. The branded store model was growing rampantly in the cycling space and we were falling behind, so I was asked to travel the world and write a white paper on the future of retail in the next five years (2012-2017). 

After working with some key associates in some of the world's biggest and best retailers in my network, I was confident that I had nailed the 6 Key Success Factors for retail, but after presenting them, outlined below,  I was heavily criticized by the Global President and the U.S. General Manager that it was "pie in the sky"  and "wasn't grounded in reality." 

I wasn't ready to take the loss on it, but it was one of many "trigger moments" in my relationship with my manager and the mentoring I was receiving from the Global President, eventually leading to my departure...