Chief executive officers live in that amorphic, ever-changing space between perception and reality.

There’s the business they run, which in fashion always has all of the inevitable foibles. And then there’s the vision that they conjure and sell — to their boards, to analysts, to investors, to everyone.

The sales pitch is about growth and building up the brand. The rest of the job is about getting that reality to sync up.

Calvin McDonald, the suddenly outgoing CEO of Lululemon Athletica Inc., has been a master of promising — and then delivering — the moon. Not just once, but over and over.

Revenues at the athleisure brand are on track to triple during his seven-year run, hitting $11 billion by the time he leaves next month. Net income ballooned to $1.7 billion as margins on earnings

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