John Edwards and Toyota were seemingly on top of the world. 

Just a couple of years ago, our state's former Junior Senator was a rising star who had as good a shot as any to become the Democratic nominee for president - and with that, odds are he would've been our 44th president. 

Less than 13 months ago, Toyota overtook GM as the world's top automotive seller.

Both are suffering mightily right now.  Unless you've been incommunicado lately, you know that Edwards has admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock, and now he and wife Elizabeth are separated.  And you know that Toyota has had to recall millions of cars and notify dealers to stop seling some of their most popular models until serious mechanical/safety problems are fixed.

Commentators are all over how Edwards and Toyota should respond to repair their reputations, and therefore their livelihoods.

But why did both misstep so badly?

One of my father-in-law's many sayings has never been more appropriate than with these two: "Their egos got out in front of their headlights."

It seems Toyota once was committed to building the most reliable, affordable cars on the planet.  But in their drive to sell more cars than any other company (ahem, GM) worldwide, they took some cost-cutting measures at the expense of reliability. 

So many people once adored John Edwards because, even though he was wealthier than God, he came across as a fighting progressive, someone who stood up to the bullies on behalf of decent folk.  Now former advisor Andrew Young has written a book (The Politician) in which he tells story after story that shows Edwards as a man devoted more to his own success and glory rather than to the good of the people he said he wanted to represent.

One of our "Five Words" is Love.  It can help guide you when the mission is pure, and when others want to become part of it. 

Toyota and Edwards began to love their own success more than the reasons we wanted them to be successful. 

Now they're case studies of failure.