Establishment Careers no longer like Mafia: No more Made Men

Today one-time respected political columnist Robert Novak died from a brain cancer. His ordeal is over.  It began when he took the risk or became reckless and set the ball rolling on the outing of Valerie Plame as an employee of the CIA. He couldn't seem to come back from how his career derailed.

Novak is not alone.  Increasingly The Establishment players, who saw their professional status as fixed as with the Mafia's Made Men, are finding that is no longer true.  Conservative writer Ben Stein, for example, was ousted from Paradise, that is, his column at THE NEW YORK TIMES.  Law Firm partners are being axed because they can't or won't develop new business.  Personal branding, as management consultant Tom Peters called it, is a continuum.  In fact, it's never a wrap.  Even after our death, the quality of our work and our contribution to the profession are up for debate.

Comments

[Ron Miller]

I was not a fan of Novak's views on many things. But his passing is a loss and I think it is probably best to let a man be buried before even talking about this sort of stuff.

[Joe]

I guess the old saying, "Don't rest on your laurels," is still true.