It s not what we don t know that hurts us--it s what we know that just<br >ain t so.<br >--American humorist Kin Hubbard<br >Robert had worked for the Wanderlust Corporation for eight years. He had<br >brought an excellent academic background to the job， as well as four years of<br >top-notch prior experience. He had devoted himself to his work and had inched<br >up in responsibility， title， and pay.<br > Robert was sure that his performance was not only satisfactory but nota-<br >ble within his department. He felt that he was respected， and he was certain<br >he d be given the opportunity to take on new assignments as his career devel-<br >oped. He was confident that his relationships with his peers and management<br >were very good. His most recent performance review was the best he had ever<br >received.<br > On a beautiful spring morning， Robert was downsized.<br >IGNORING THE GROWING CANCER<br > What happened to Robert?<br > While I m not suggesting that being downsized was Robert s fault<br > (or at least it was not entirely his fault，)， it s quite apparent that Robert<br > was operating under a serious and fatal illusion about his job security<br >and his connection to his organization. The decision to let Robert go<br >wasn t made one minute or five minutes or even a day before he was<br >put on the street. This decision， and the economic and personal driving<br >forces behind it， may have been in the works for weeks or months--or<br >even years.<br > This is how it is so often in our careers. We go along and think<br ><br ><br >