What it means:Just one letter separates a successful, high-flying executive from a bankrupt, down-at-heel grocery assistant. Just ask some of our former captains of industry who have recently fallen on their own financial swords.
A career tragectory is an unstoppable downward spiral of business mishaps and misadventures that can only end in tears – for creditors, for investors, and maybe the entire Irish populace.
Where it comes from: When the new century dawned, the future was looking bright, and the only way was up. Enron were the smartest guys in the room, Lehmann Brothers were leading the financial field, Anglo was in profit, and savvy parents were nudging their kids towards a career in banking. And everyone became an entrepreneur, moving into property development, retail and online business, and playing the kind of high-stakes business games that would have made a poker master fold.
We used to watch in envy as people's fortunes rose; now we watch with a kind of
Schadenfreudeas these once-gleaming stars tumble back down to earth.
How to say it: That's some career tragectory: he used to be entrepreneur of the year – now he's employee of the month.
KEVIN COURTNEY
