A strong stomach....................

     In planning for a successful future, the past can show you how to get there.  Too often we avert our gaze when the past is unpleasant.  We don't want to go there again, even though it contains the road map to a bright future.  How good are you at looking through the evidence from the past - especially the recent past?  There's a certain knack to it, but basically it requires a keen eye for analysis, a commonsense mind for parsing evidence that offers clues to why things went as they did - both good and bad.  And, of course, it often requires a strong stomach, because what you're rummaging through may include not only achievements but the remains of a very painful professional fiasco.

-Bill Walsh with Steve Jamison,  The Score Takes Care Of Itself:  My Philosophy of Leadership