Abstract
The mythologist Joseph Campbell wrote in his seminal work, The Hero With a Thousand Faces: “The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read, not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man.” These fairy tales illustrate the five deadly dangers of leadership and highlight various ways in which leaders can derail. I contend that only by confronting these dangers head on can people in leadership positions grow emotionally and spiritually.
He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.
—Marcus Aurelius
If you are without kindness, you will meet no kindness in return.
—Tibetan proverb
Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in the truth that is taught by life.
—Friedrich Schiller
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© 2016 Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries
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de Vries, M.F.R.K. (2016). Happy Ever After. In: Telling Fairy Tales in the Boardroom. INSEAD Business Press. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-56274-6_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-56274-6_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-56272-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56274-6
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