How To Get That Promotion

I had an interesting experience the other day. There's a job open in my department. We have interviewed and interviewed and interviewed and interviewed and... hm? Oh. Sorry. Got caught in a mobius strip there.

At any rate, we were still looking for just the right person when I got a knock on my door. It was Fred, a fellow who has worked for us for a long time, as long as I've been here, in fact. Fred's a good guy and a reliable, creative player at his job function. Never saw him as a manager, though. There are many, many great people like that, who slice through their job functions like hot scimitars through camel flesh, but you just can't imagine them leading a pack of wolverines into the hunt.

Anyhow, Fred was standing in my doorway and he said, "You found anybody for that manager slot yet?" And I think, oh no, this is going to be a bad deal. I like Fred. I don't want to hurt Fred's feelings. But Fred as a manager? Come on.

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