Every job has a shelf life. Some will end with retirement, while most will end for other reasons. Regardless, they will all end.

I left my successor three envelopes with simple instructions on the face of each. The first read, “Open this envelope after you make your first big mistake.” After about a month, my friend made a mistake worthy of opening the first envelope. She called me laughing at the message I had written inside. It read, “You just hit a speed bump. It happens. It doesn’t really matter what happened or the circumstances. Blame it on me. It doesn’t matter. I’m gone and plenty of people are happy about it. Nobody will question you this time.” It worked!

Before the end of the first semester, I received another call from her. Again, she was “belly” laughing. She opened the second envelope after a minor blunder. My message to her read, “There is power in taking full responsibility for whatever you did. Apologize!...