A youthful indiscretion haunts Jeffrey Hollender every time he visits Canada.

He gets detained for extra security screening because of an incident in 1978 where authorities arrested and deported the then 23-year-old American for operating an adult-education school in Toronto without a work permit. Yet the career setback -- and the subsequent soul-searching -- proved a springboard for his eventual success. He co-founded and ran Seventh Generation Inc., a maker of environmentally friendly household products based in Burlington, Vt.

For Peter G. Peterson, the billionaire co-founder of Blackstone Group LP, a New York private-equity firm, it took an expulsion from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a stint as a department store employee to realize what he wanted to do. Myron E. Ullman III, chief executive of J.C. Penney Co., was a 30-year-old university business officer when he was involved in mishaps that landed his new boss in an emergency room twice in two weeks.

All three gleaned lessons from their early stumbles that helped them thrive later. Their experiences offer a road map to anyone discouraged by initial missteps. 'Early setbacks represent a key developmental event that successful executives cite when they look back over their careers,' says Ellen Van Velsor, a senior fellow at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, N.C.

To rebound from early mistakes, you need time to reflect constructively, as Mr. Hollender did. The college dropout had begun his nonprofit Skills Exchange in 1977. Classes ranged from sushi preparation to poetrywriting. He didn't obtain a work permit because 'I was totally obsessed with work' to obtain the permanent Canadian residency status required. Mr. Hollender never equated his deportation with failure. 'It caused me to begin to re-examine what really matters,' he says.

The entrepreneur next created a for-profit New York venture called Network for Learning, with offbeat classes such as 'The Art of Flirting.' Network for Learning quickly grew, attracting 60,000 students and turning a profit by its second fiscal year. Mr. Hollender sold the business for more than $2 million in 1985. Four years later, Mr. Hollender and partner Alan Newman raised money for a failing mail-order catalog that peddled environmental products. They renamed it Seventh Generation, where Mr. Hollender, 55, now is executive chairman.

Mr. Peterson's early setbacks persuaded him to set higher ethical standards and heed his gut instincts. M.I.T. kicked him out in fall 1944 for plagiarizing another student's term paper. He believed he didn't cheat because he had revised it and added much of his own information. The expulsion made him realize he should avoid 'self-serving rationalizations about questionable behavior.' He instead asked himself: 'What would a person I admire greatly think about this behavior?' That's why 'I have somehow managed to stay out of trouble ever since,' he continues.

After graduation from Northwestern University in 1947, the marketing major was hired as an assistant" target="_blank" title="n.助手；助理；助教">assistant toy buyer for a department store in Portland, Ore. He quit four months later because he hated retailing. 'I had made a serious mistake,' he says.

During a drive to Chicago to see his fiancee, he says he realized his keen analytical ability qualified him for market research. He joined a small market-research firm, which promoted the junior analyst to executive vice president within two years. He later was an adman at McCann-Erickson, CEO of electronics maker Bell & Howell Co., President Richard Nixon's commerce secretary and head of Lehman Brothers.

Mr. Peterson co-launched Blackstone in 1985. He says he insisted the firm do no equityresearch or hostile takeovers because he felt those activities conflicted with clients' interests. This reflected his post-M.I.T. belief 'in the need for honesty and integrity,' he adds.

For Mr. Ullman, twin injuries suffered by his supervisor propelled him to perform better on the job. He was chief business officer for University of Cincinnati when Henry Winkler became acting president in 1977. Weeks later, the two men and their wives decided to drive together to a football game.

Mr. Ullman was standing by his wife when she slammed the car door on his boss's hand. Mr. Winkler says the bad bruise incapacitated him for two weeks. The day they resumed their regular racketball game, Mr. Ullman hit Mr. Winkler -- who had ducked behind him -- with his racket and gave him a black eye. 'I am not sure I can surviveworking with you,' Mr. Winkler recalls joking at the time.

'I have a lot to prove that I am not a risk,' Mr. Ullman replied anxiously. As a result, 'there's no question I worked my butt off,' he says.

Mr. Ullman, now 63, says his efforts deepened his ties with his boss. Mr. Winkler often helped by taking the heat when Mr. Ullman needed more budget funds or persuading colleagues to assist him. This taught Mr. Ullman, who held top jobs at several retailers before taking command of Penney in 2004, a powerful leadership lesson: 'If a boss focuses on making colleagues successful, they have a better chance of succeeding.'

Joann S. Lublin

• youthful [´ju:θfəl] a.年轻的；青年的 (初中英语单词)
• security [si´kjuəriti] n.安全；证券；抵押品 (初中英语单词)
• incident [´insidənt] n.小事件；事变 (初中英语单词)
• career [kə´riə] n.经历；生涯；职业 (初中英语单词)
• generation [,dʒenə´reiʃən] n.发生；世代；同龄人 (初中英语单词)
• institute [´institju:t] n.学院 vt.建立；设置 (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• reflect [ri´flekt] v.反射；反响；表达 (初中英语单词)
• preparation [,prepə´reiʃən] n.准备；预习(时间) (初中英语单词)
• poetry [´pəuitri] n.诗；诗意 (初中英语单词)
• writing [´raitiŋ] n.书写；写作；书法 (初中英语单词)
• obtain [əb´tein] v.获得；买到；得到承认 (初中英语单词)
• permanent [´pə:mənənt] a.永久的；不变的 (初中英语单词)
• canadian [kə´neidiən] a.加拿大的n.加拿大人 (初中英语单词)
• failure [´feiljə] n.失败；衰竭；破产 (初中英语单词)
• venture [´ventʃə] n.投机 v.冒险；敢于 (初中英语单词)
• learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)
• partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同....合作 (初中英语单词)
• assistant [ə´sistənt] n.助手；助理；助教 (初中英语单词)
• ability [ə´biliti] n.(办事)能力；才干 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• junior [´dʒu:niə] a.年少的 n.年少者 (初中英语单词)
• commerce [´kɔmə:s] n.商业；社交；交流 (初中英语单词)
• hostile [´hɔstail] a.敌方的，敌意的 (初中英语单词)
• belief [bi´li:f] n.相信；信仰，信条 (初中英语单词)
• acting [´æktiŋ] a.代理的 n.演戏 (初中英语单词)
• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
• survive [sə´vaiv] vt.幸存；残存 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• assist [ə´sist] v.协助；援助；搀扶 (初中英语单词)
• subsequent [´sʌbsikwənt] a.其次的；其后的 (高中英语单词)
• emergency [i´mə:dʒənsi] n.事变；紧急关头 (高中英语单词)
• thrive [θraiv] vi.兴旺；繁荣 (高中英语单词)
• initial [i´niʃəl] a.最初的 n.首字母 (高中英语单词)
• senior [´si:niə] a.年长的 n.前辈 (高中英语单词)
• leadership [´li:dəʃip] n.领导(能力) (高中英语单词)
• honesty [´ɔnisti] n.诚实，老实 (高中英语单词)
• cincinnati [,sisin´næti] n.辛辛那提 (高中英语单词)
• decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
• bruise [bru:z] n.伤痕 v.打(碰)伤 (高中英语单词)
• racket [´rækit] n.(网球等的)拍；球拍 (高中英语单词)
• anxiously [´æŋkʃəsli] ad.挂念地；渴望地 (高中英语单词)
• budget [´bʌdʒit] n.&vi.(做)预算；安排 (高中英语单词)
• creative [kri:´eitiv] a.有创造力的；创作的 (英语四级单词)
• totally [´təutəli] ad.统统，完全 (英语四级单词)
• status [´steitəs] n.身份；情形；状况 (英语四级单词)
• network [´netwə:k] n.网状物 vt.联播 (英语四级单词)
• northwestern [,nɔ:θ´westən] a.西北的；自西北的 (英语四级单词)
• chicago [ʃi´kɑ:gəu] n.芝加哥 (英语四级单词)
• expulsion [ik´spʌlʃən] n.驱逐；开除；排气 (英语六级单词)
• deportation [di:pɔ:´teiʃ(ə)n] n.放逐，驱逐出境 (英语六级单词)
• entrepreneur [,ɔntrəprə´nə:] n.企业家，创业者 (英语六级单词)
• fiscal [´fiskəl] a.财政的 (英语六级单词)
• questionable [´kwestʃənəbəl] a.可疑的，不可靠的 (英语六级单词)
• graduation [,grædʒu´eiʃən] n.毕业(典礼)；刻度 (英语六级单词)
• equity [´ekwiti] n.公平；公正 (英语六级单词)
• supervisor [´su:pəvaizə, ´sju:-] n.管理人；监督人 (英语六级单词)
• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)