The tyranny of timing: good ideas can go south with great alacrity if the timing is off, as illustrated by the fortunes of three formidable show business women executives. (Inside Moves).(Susan Lyne, Jean Firstenberg, Tina Brown)(Brief Article)

Variety, January, 2002 by Bart, Peter

Brandon Tartikoff had a theory about success and failure -- one that he admitted was unpopular among his over-achieving peers. The success of an individual, or indeed of a show, he felt, was usually a reflection more of timing than of talent. The key element was being in the right place at the right time.

Sounds fatalistic, doesn't it?

I was revisiting Tartikoff's theory this week in the context of three people in the news -- three women, by coincidence. All are facing the nasty reality of timing, both good and bad. They are Susan Lyne, Jean Firstenberg and Tina Brown.

Lyne, a singularly gracious person, is moving into her new job at a singularly hideous time. That's not to suggest she's destined to fail in her new post as president...