Dear Dr. George:

I have a scientific mind and usually don’t buy all this behavioral stuff that you and people like you preach. However, this geek wants from you a concrete explanation of how a promotion decision is reached.

Signed,

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Dear BENJAMIN FRANKLIN:

May lightning strike me if I disappoint you. Okay, it goes like this, Einstein:

Using a geometric compass, draw a circle. Label it: “The Decision Making Model for a Promotion.”

Count how many people you interact with in your job, including those like your boss or human resources director who would have say over your potential promotion.

Let’s say you name ten people. Evaluate your relationship with each of these people.

Insert a plus or minus sign inside the circle to represent the type of relationship you have with each of these ten people. A plus sign means that person would want to see you promoted; a minus sign means that person would not want to see you to be promoted. If you do not know how any of those ten feel, write a “U” (unknown) in the circle.

Let’s say you have ten minuses inside the circle, meaning people in your company think you are Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. The odds are 100 percent that you won’t get a promotion.

If you have five plusses and five minuses, the odds are 50 percent or even less that you will get a promotion. In this case, your boss and the human resources manager must be a big plus to override the other five who think you are a thunderstorm on a tanning beach. You probably won’t get a promotion.

In conclusion, the people with whom you have contact, direct and indirect, must believe you are a fair, open-minded, congenial and competent person who enjoy working with you. They would think you are a plus, meaning they would like for you to receive more responsibility. The more plusses inside the circle, the more likely you’ll be considered for a promotion.

In scientific language: a promotion is the correlation between your entire sphere of influence in the organization and all the individuals within that sphere.

In unscientific language: If you are a jerk at work who drives people berserk, you can be assured you will more likely be demoted than promoted.

Dr. George Abraham is a business consultant author of “The Seven Deadly Work Sins Against the Golden Rule.” He also formally served as an adjunct professor at Hofstra. Email confidential questions for advice to [email protected].