‘I tell the truth, Bob doesn't get the job’: Credit-stealing coworker Bob rides colleague’s $10M company turnaround success for a decade, then a reference call exposed his lies, costing him his dream job

The Great Credit Appropriation is really a timeless workplace phenomenon. In every office, there's always a Bob, the eternal understudy who manages to stumble into scenes just as the applause starts. These folks have a special talent for repackaging the sweat, spreadsheets, and sleepless nights of others as their own executive summary, skillfully narrating a story in which they're the hero and everyone else is lucky to be a supporting character. Maybe it's a whiff of plausible deniability, maybe it's confidence borrowed from LinkedIn's endless sea of self-congratulation, but somewhere along the line, they become convinced that proximity to effort is the same as actual achievement.

The corporate world is thick with these legacy leeches, drifting from cubicle to conference room, rehearsing tales of transformation while the real architects of success quietly pick up the pieces. They know their audience too: new managers, partner companies, and anyone just far enough removed from the details to swallow the legend whole. 

Occasionally, these myth-makers even get away with it for years, collecting participation trophies and office cake until the storytelling outpaces the skill set. Then, with cosmic precision, reality receives a memo. In our case: A reference call, a simple question, an overdue fact check. And suddenly, the curtain drops and the stolen spotlight flickers out.