Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, commenting on replacement of Reid Hoffman by a professional manager, suggests a new phrase. Hoffman didn't step down from the chief executive slot at Linked In; he "stepped up" to chairman. The phrase has some value, kinder than an explicit statement that the company has outgrown the founder's limited management talents.The verb is active, suggesting that the entrepreneur had some control over the decision, or at least that the investors and other executives will collude in that illusion. But, it's a euphemism, nevertheless, as dishonest in its way as a resigning chief exec's desire to spend more time with family, or pursue other interests. A more robust alternative: kicked upstairs, defined as promotion to a higher yet less desirable position. To be used, thus: "I've been kicked upstairs," says Reid Hoffman, smilingly. There, doesn't that sound confident, and engagingly self-deprecating?
