16 When It Comes to Promotions, It’s About Who Knows You

by Anand Tamboli

During my days at LG Electronics, January was the month of promotions. The office filled with whispers of who would be next to advance. We all had our theories. We were also almost always wrong.

I remember one particular afternoon, when a colleague of mine, Arun, was passed up for a promotion, leaving the entire office confused. He was an excellent engineer with strong leadership skills—someone we would have bet money on. We all thought he deserved it.

“Arun has so many years of experience,” I said to my manager, Mr. Kim. “He’s great at what he does. Why didn’t he get the promotion?”

“Arun is an excellent engineer, no doubt,” Mr. Kim said. “But he isn’t ready to be ...

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