Introduction
What keeps people from getting into management, managers from becoming executives, and executives from advancing, is seldom a matter of technical competence or work ethic, but their ability to create a positive impression of themselves, a quality Aristotle termed "ethos," or in modern parlance, credibility.
The title of the book comes from phrases that are very common in candidate evaluations - a person is "talented, but ..." or "savvy, but ..." or "a technical genius, but ..." - and the "but" is followed by some common foible that prevents them from gaining credibility in the workplace.
One of the foremost researchers in this area, James McCroskey, whittled creditability down to five factors: competence, character, composure, sociability, and extroversion. He later added "goodwill" to the list (in terms of a person's intentions toward others).
Most of the requirements or desirable attributes of a manager speak to their credibility: a person who fosters the values of an organization (character), demonstrates interpersonal skills (sociability), is passionate about the company (extraversion), and focuses on results (competence).
EN: I have mixed feelings about this book. The author seems to be fumbling with the concept of developing and maintaining a professional demeanor, of which credibility is an element (or, it could be argued, a precipitating effect). As a result, the treatment is a bit jumbled and nebulous at times.