Successful promotions and the bucket of ashes. (basing promotions on future rather than past performance)

Jack sat down across from me, 20 days after he started working for me at IBM, and asked me to promote him to a recently opened management slot. When I inquired why, he told me he had put in three good years in this trench and had met his targets most of the time. He felt he deserved a reward.

Vickie came to me the next day asking for the same promotion. Her first reason was that she was becoming a little burned out, and wanted a change. Vickie had been leading teams that were consistently top producers, and we couldn't afford to lose her competency.

Who gets the opportunity? Is promotion after a few years a reasonable expectation? Many people say it is. With reduced budgets, the pressure to promote as a reward for past behavior is stronger than ever. I am suggesting an …