What happens when a CEO triples revenue, builds a flawless omnichannel machine, cracks 30 new markets… and still gets fired while $35 billion in market value evaporates? In this episode, we use Lululemon and Calvin McDonald as a case study in how operational brilliance can quietly hollow out a “movement nation” and turn it into a sterile retail state. Drawing on Marc Abergel’s analysis, we unpack why infrastructure without mythology is just expensive asphalt, how Mirror, loyalty programs and store design were treated as utilities instead of nation-building tools, and why the next generation of leaders must  ...