A friend of mine seems to have worked himself out of a job. Management said he was overqualified. They promoted his subordinate. Comments?

Answer: It could be cost cutting. It could be age discrimination, or it could be a headcount reduction. It is not the first time I have heard someone say they worked themselves out of a job. The key characteristics of this phenomenon seem to be: Good credit / risk management controls in place; low DSO; low bad debt losses; a well trained and highly motivated credit department staff; and a good working relationship with sales and with customers. The only comments I have are: [1] Sometimes credit managers make what they do look too easy...which it usually is not. [2] Some credit managers go too far in sharing the credit for their successes with their subordinates...it is a team effort, but every team needs a coach or captain and without proper leadership the 'team' will not be successful on talent alone.