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Excerpts from Cracking the Corporate Code

Don Brown had a cool, knowledgeable and unbiased built-in supporter at Kraft. An older brother was in human resources at Kraft and had convinced Brown to apply there in the first place. That's who he turned to when he had to face losing a promotion he thought he deserved. "My brother was a few years ahead of me and had a broader perspective on how a company evaluates people, since he was in human resources. He's my go-to guy, when all else fails. The first time I got passed over for a promotion where I felt I was the best candidate and the best prepared, I was real disappointed. Everybody was even coming up to me and saying, 'Man, you should have had that job. You're head and shoulders above that guy.' It was a significant promotion, and it was in the days where every additional dollar meant something to the family. And the guy who got it was good friends with the guy who made the decision.

"Lucky for me I had my brother, and lucky for me I knew to call him. I said, 'Hey, look, I'm thinking about quitting.' And right away he said, 'Hey, cool that. First of all, the way you handle this disappointment means a lot to your image in the company. So don't go out pouting and don't allow yourself to rant and rave. First thing tomorrow morning when you get to work, you shake that guy's hand and congratulate him. Tell him how happy you are he got the job and how you'll support him. The next thing you do is talk to your boss about what you need to work on in order to be ready for the next promotion.' I never asked him how he knew all that. I know it had happened to him, but I never talked to him about it. I took it at face value. It felt right, and I did what he said. Two months later I got a promotion."