When you lead change, sometimes you get arrows in your back. I mean, that’s just the way the real world is.

Fiorina frames leadership—especially leadership that attempts reform—as inherently conflictual. The “arrows in your back” metaphor suggests attacks from behind: criticism, betrayal, or sabotage from colleagues and stakeholders who feel threatened by change or who prefer the status quo. By adding “that’s just the way the real world is,” she normalizes resistance as a predictable cost of decisive action rather than a sign that change is misguided. The remark functions as both warning and encouragement: effective leaders should anticipate backlash, avoid taking it purely personally, and persist when they believe the change is necessary.