Ironically, the truths relate to the reasons most executives get fired in the first place. Learn these, and you'll never need outplacement help, even in a volatile market. OR NOT . Most of the executives I've helped in the past 20 years didn't want to play corporate politics. They never realized that the nature of the task requires them to manage relationships among people.
Executives frequently manage downward superbly.
But few have developed the skill to manage upward. Learn it or be asked to leave. The first executive in whom I spotted this fatal flaw had just been aced out of the presidency of a manufacturing conglomerate. I'm too busy getting results from my people down to the bottom line. While his bottom line was admirable, none of the board members really knew him personally.