Red faced?

I've got considerable sympathy for some friends at the moment. Their 'middle manager', although he probably thinks of himself as a CEO, has gone and said something very silly. Something which not only runs against long term company policy but also seems to fly in the face of the first series of 'five year objectives' which concluded on the 19th of April, 2010. Now admittedly he has given what amounts to being a private opinion but, as happens so frequently these days, private letters, particularly unflattering ones, tend to get out. The collateral damage, in terms of good peoples' professional reputations, could be very awkward. I imagine the middle manager currently wishes he had stuck to writing anonymous columns. At least there he has a team of sub editors to give a helpful hand.

So what are my friends to do? They know what company policy is and they have always striven to defend it. Unfortunately their kindly 'middle manager' is becoming a bit of a liability. This is not the first gaffe in recent times. But the structure of the company requires cohesion and their division has a particular tradition of the middle manager saying 'Jump!' and the underlings replying 'Just how high, Sir?' To go against your superiors, in this division, would be very awkward. Hopefully Head Office might receive copies of all necessary documentation and then they can sort him, whoops I mean it, out!