The Brilliantly Manipulative Co-Worker Who Derailed My Career
Sometimes “helpful” advice from a colleague isn’t what it seems on the surface
This article is for subscribers only.
In 2001, I was doing well at my job at Cisco Systems, leading a group that helped companies we’d acquired adjust to life at the networking giant. But this was the beginning of an era of massive layoffs in Silicon Valley and across the U.S., and my employer was no different: I knew my job may be in danger. Yet by the summer of 2002, I was in Singapore, having survived a rough period at the company. I felt relieved and excited to have a new assignment, and a job.
Two years later, I was out—an abrupt end to what I thought would be a lifetime relationship with my employer.