My Boss Was Just Fired

Dear Pragmatist,

My boss was just fired. I really respect him and feel awful. What should I do?

Well, you could resign in protest. Or,

Tell all you colleagues how unfair it was. Or,

You could keep you head down and just keep doing your job. Or,

You could apply for his job.

Hmmm. I suggest you apply for his job. Don’t wait for it to be offered to you. Ask for it. If you do get it, make sure you get adequately compensated.

Don’t let anyone position any pay package as a “first prove yourself and then we will revaluate salary/bonus”. Don’t ever make the case for a pay increase based on more work – make the argument based on increased responsibility.

Evaluate what your former boss did wrong and be prepared to do some things differently.