Dear Urban Diplomat: should I jog with my manager if it helps get me a promotion?
Dear Urban Diplomat, I’m being considered for partner at my law firm. The managing partner lives a few streets over, and when he found out I run marathons, he asked me to run with him in the mornings. Trouble is, he’s so slow that we might as well be walking. My training schedule is shot. How can I get out of this without risking my promotion? —Stuck in the Rat Race, TEDDINGTON PARK
This is a case where getting ahead means slowing down. Skip the upcoming race and think of the excruciatingly slow runs as training toward the goal of becoming partner. A few months after you’ve secured the position, explain to Mr. Molasses that you’re starting a rigorous training program best done solo. Surely he’s aware of his slowpokery and won’t take it as a personal slight—unless with all your ass kissing you’ve convinced him he’s Usain Bolt, in which case you have to run with the deluded, lead-footed monster you created.
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