By everyone's account, Kevin has the ideal life. At the age of 39 he has attained the title of Vice President of Corporate Planning for XO Engineering Services Inc. (fictitious name), a midsized engi- neering firm specializing in providing support for large-scale infrastructure projects around the world. Kevin has spent his entire professional career at XO. At the age of 23 Kevin received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from one of the top universities in the United States. While he looked at a number of engineering companies prior to graduation, he was most impressed with XO right from the start. By Kevin's estimation, XO was a pro- gressive organization that had outstanding growth prospects and really seemed to care about its employees. During the interview process he was surprised by how many times he heard that XO was like a family. Many of the employees whom Kevin met during his site visit had spent their entire careers at XO, and some had been with the company for its entire 30-year existence. Another selling point in favor of XO was that its corporate headquarters was in a Virginia suburb right outside of Washington, D.C. Kevin had grown up in northern Virginia and really wanted to stay in the metro Washington, D.C., area. For all of these reasons, the choice of XO as an employer was a "no-brainer" for Kevin. Kevin's Early Career Kevin's work ethic, intelligence, and charisma were recognized by XO's senior management early in his tenure with the company. In every assignment and project, Kevin's superiors would give him glowing evaluations. Kevin's rise up the corporate hierarchy was meteoric, at least by XO's standards. He went from a junior to a senior engineering position in one year and to a project manager two years after that. (Continued)