Do you fall down or 
do you fall up?
I’ve pretty much always fallen down. Then I pick myself up and continue on my way.
I’ve noticed that some people fall up rather down. I mean this metaphorically of course.
They mess up in a big, often embarrassing, sometimes scandalous way, and not too long after the dust settles from their screw up or ethical lapse, they get a more lucrative job or consultancy. Often they garner a larger platform than the one they started with.
Perhaps my problem is that I’ve only had small screw-ups. Perhaps you have to screw up in a grand way to get noticed. Or perhaps you only fall up when you’re already on high ground. The thinking seems to be, oh, he/she really screwed that up – let’s see how she can handle this bigger job… organization… pot-of-gold.
I’m not envious really, I’m mostly curious. How do they do that?
What do you think, dear readers? Have you noticed this phenomenon?
I guess I need to fall gracefully :) Whenever I have made mistakes I am unable to “recover” from. However, I see other people rise higher despite major compromising of an organization. Hello….DotWell, Urban League, INROADS.
I think we can all point to co-workers who rose despite not doing visible work. Sometimes it has to do with people having a perky personality. I haven’t figured it out. One can be the go-to person who gets things done but that doesn’t guarantee promotion or success. Oh…well…
If you fall and you’re hurt why should you be graceful? To say nothing of when you’re pushed down!
Typo, third paragraph they should be the
Sometimes, in my life, I feel invisible. I think those who fall are rarely invisible and perhaps one must be visible to move forward. Maybe it’s not so much fail or succeed as simple visiblity (I think I’m having a bad day!)