Zucker Gets NBC Promotion Despite Ratings Setback

A boss's pet can cause real problems for a human resources executive because sometimes performance doesn't necessarily translate to a promotion. Sometimes the decision maker happens to like another guy better, a guy like Jeff Zucker.

Human Resources Favoritism

Jeff Zucker was once an executive producer on the Today Show. Making a huge gamble, NBC head Bob Wright tapped Zucker to head NBC entertainment in Los Angeles.

New Yorker Zucker was a breath of fresh air in Hollywood, where network bigwigs tend to be a revolving door of the same faces. Three years later, before any of his California work could be deemed successful or unsuccessful, Zucker was promoted again and transferred back to New York.

Loses Jennifer Aniston

Soon after his return to New York, hampered by the loss of the sitcom Friends, the entertainment slate Zucker created in Los Angles floundered on the air. NBC was a shocking fourth in audience levels last year and looks to be on its way there again this season.

No matter. Despite two bad seasons, Wright and Immelt promoted Zucker again, making him, according to the New York Times, one of the fastest rising executives in NBC history.

Keeping The Man Who Came In Second

Small consolation for Randy Falco, another top executive who was looking to land the promotion that Zucker got. Falco will now report to Zucker. And Zucker will now work on the executive-only 52nd floor in the storied GE building at Rockefeller Center.

Human Resources Career

It's finessing a potentially disgruntled worker like Randy Falco that has to become an art form in a human resources career. In human resources jobs, you are expected to deliver bad news ("the other guy got the promotion") in such a way that the receiver of the bad news doesn't want to immediately to bolt for another company.

Source
New York Times