Anyone can start a business. But only leaders can succeed.

Most entrepreneurs know the long odds: only a fraction of them will lead their enterprises through the rocky stages of growth to launch self-sustaining companies. Very few know how to outflank the failures that await them at every turn, including the most painful--being abandoned by key members of their team or getting pushed out by their board just as their business starts to generate real value.

Derek Lidow is on a mission to improve these odds and change these outcomes. Throughout his long career--as CEO, innovator, and...