Dear Bob ...Nine months ago my employer offered me a terrific opportunity. Actually, two of them - the chance to build a department that had received too little attention up until then, and a major project that had only a slight relationship to the department.The short version: I agreed to both. The CEO is the sort who could sell ice to Eskimos; he was very persuasive that I'd be able to succeed at both and I su Dear Bob …Nine months ago my employer offered me a terrific opportunity. Actually, two of them – the chance to build a department that had received too little attention up until then, and a major project that had only a slight relationship to the department.The short version: I agreed to both. The CEO is the sort who could sell ice to Eskimos; he was very persuasive that I’d be able to succeed at both and I succumbed to the flattery … and the assurances that I’d have all the support I’d need. Here’s what happened:I really did get the support I needed, if “support” doesn’t include the ability to hire key management positions to take on a lot of the day-to-day work. Maybe someone else could have juggled both responsibilities successfully, but I couldn’t. The project limped along at about a quarter speed compared to the company’s expectations, and I wasn’t able to give the department anywhere near the attention it deserved.Three months ago the company hired someone else to take on the project and took it away from me. I was relieved – I figured I’d be able to devote all of my attention to building my department. I would have, too, except that I heard through the grapevine that the CEO was making disparaging remarks about my abilities, and I stopped getting the cooperation I needed from other departments. I don’t really blame them – if what I heard was accurate, I’d have avoided me too. Last week I was demoted, although they had the good manners to hide it through a reorganization. The net effect is that someone else is now responsible for building the department I’d been in charge of, and I’m in a staff role.What do you think I should do to salvage my career here?– Took too big a bite Dear Chewer …That’s easy: Leave. Your reputation in the company is shot, and whether or not it’s your fault doesn’t matter a bit.In theory, you could stay and salvage your career. The way to do it is to keep your head down, stick to your knitting, succeed at every assignment they throw at you, and politely but firmly turn down any assignment that looks like a losing proposition … or redefine it so it can be a winning proposition. In three years, more or less, you’ll have been rehabilitated.But why put yourself through this? If you move to a different company you’d be rehabilitated the day you start.– Bob Technology Industry