Hard to say whether Karl was given a choice of resigning 'or else,' or whether he simply chose of his own accord to move on. It could be either one, and we may never know which was the truth. That's the way things work in the business world. The company saw its huge backorder list dwindle away and the future prospects aren't as bright as they were (not necessarily bad, but still not as bright). So the honchos may have become disenchanted with Karl's leadership. On the other side of the coin, managers often leave at a juncture when they still can brag about successes, and waiting too long can jeopardize a career if things turn too sour in the company, so Karl might have just chosen to "git while the gittin's good".
My son is an engineer in a petroleum business. Some years back they wanted to promote him to management. He declined. He told us that managers come and managers go; it's a revolving door, and they have to be shameless self-promoters plus know when to cut & run before they get an involuntary heave-ho. As an experienced engineer who started 'at the bottom' in CAD, he's stable in employment because he's just about indispensable; he can do almost every job in the place (other than the fabrication shop).
My son is an engineer in a petroleum business. Some years back they wanted to promote him to management. He declined. He told us that managers come and managers go; it's a revolving door, and they have to be shameless self-promoters plus know when to cut & run before they get an involuntary heave-ho. As an experienced engineer who started 'at the bottom' in CAD, he's stable in employment because he's just about indispensable; he can do almost every job in the place (other than the fabrication shop).
Alf
