DO NOT RUN.

Over the last two years, his employer, Capital One Financial Corporation, made a bold move into retail banking with its acquisition of two major banks. The acquisitions marked a dramatic expansion beyond the company's core credit-card and auto-loan businesses, and also more than doubled the size of its workforce. As director of change communications, Cooper is devoting much of his time to banking integrations and helping to "pull folks in" to what he calls the "Capital One of the future." Such work involves long hours and a good deal of travel, so Cooper struggles to balance the demands of his professional life with his personal passions, such as spending time with family and keeping fit. One might assume that finding time for two of his other passions—learning and career development—is a luxury in which he rarely can afford to indulge. Yet despite his hectic schedule, Cooper now is spending more time learning than ever before.