Interview with Author and Former Sleep Country Canada CEO, Gordon Lownds

I recent­ly had the oppor­tu­ni­ty to sit down with Gor­don Lownds — entre­pre­neur, for­mer CEO, and author of Crack­ing Up. His sto­ry is pow­er­ful, hon­est, and full of lessons for lead­ers who are dri­ven, high-per­form­ing, and human (which is all of us). In this inter­view, Gor­don shares the rise, the derail­ment, and the rebuild­ing that shaped his life and career. I’m grate­ful he was will­ing to be so candid.

Here are some poignant moments cap­tured in clips:

Or watch the full inter­view here:

Along­side this inter­view with Gor­don Lownds, I’ve put togeth­er two arti­cles that dig deep­er into the themes that stood out to me — the dri­ve that fuels us, the blind spots that can derail us, and the self-aware­ness that ulti­mate­ly brings us back. Gord’s sto­ry is remark­able, and these com­pan­ion pieces are meant to help lead­ers con­nect the dots to their own experiences.

Addi­tion­al Resources Relat­ed to Gor­don’s Story:

• The Myth of Invin­ci­bil­i­ty: What Lead­ers Can Learn from Gor­don Lownds’ Fall and Rise
• How a High­ly Suc­cess­ful CEO Can Spi­ral From Peak Per­for­mance to Per­son­al Crisis

Below are addi­tion­al arti­cles and inter­views that dig into the expe­ri­ences shap­ing great lead­ers — the wins, the set­backs, and every­thing in between.

Addi­tion­al Resources on Men­tal Health and Resilience:

• Webi­nar — Men­tal Health Webi­nar: Build­ing Sus­tain­able Resilience
• Inter­view — A Close Call With Men­tal Health: Inter­view with Michael Wendland
• Inter­view — David Greer: Fac­ing a Bru­tal Fact
• Inter­view — Your Oxy­gen Mask First: Sev­en-Year Anniver­sary Reflec­tion with Dean Ritchey
• Arti­cle — Find a Great Men­tal Health Practitioner
• Arti­cle — Build­ing a Cul­ture That Sup­ports Men­tal Health
• Arti­cle — How to Dis­cuss Burnout With Your Team