A rising star hits the wall.

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt was a fast-rising star in his mid-thirties when he faced his toughest challenge. Asked to return to GE’s plastics business as head of world sales and marketing, he had reservations about accepting the move because it was not a promotion. Jack Welch told him, “I know this isn’t what you want to do, but this is a time when you serve the company.”

Facing stiff competition, the division had entered into several long-term, fixed-price contracts with key customers, including U.S. automakers, when a spike of inflation sent the division’s costs soaring. Immelt’s operation missed its operating profit target by $30 million, or 30 percent of its budget. He tried to increase prices, but progress was slow, as Immelt’s actions caused its crucial relationship with General Motors to deteriorate.

Immelt was under enormous pressure to deliver immediate results, but he withstood the pressure to compromise and took the long-term course of getting the business back on track. Immelt recalled the year as a remarkably difficult one until he and his team could start to turn the business around. “Nobody wants to be around somebody going through a low period. In times like that you’ve got to be able to draw from within. Leadership is one of these great journeys into your own soul.”