I Gave Four Years to a Deal That Fell Apart in an Afternoon.

I gave four years to a deal that fell apart in an afternoon.

I never got a straight answer why.

A long courtship. Twelve months at the table. Down to minor redlines on ancillary agreements.

And then it was over.

I have theories. None of them are answers.

For a while it felt like all of it was wasted.

Here is what I could not see from there:

That collapse is the only reason we pivoted. And the pivot became a three-way international merger. Something unprecedented in our industry. The proudest deal of my career.

The failure did not cost me the win. It was the door to it.

You rarely get to see where a thing leads while you are still standing in it.

The strange part? Some doors do not stay closed.

Fail honestly. You may be closer than it feels.