Firing? how crude.

In any large company, the effort and expense involved, to say nothing of the negative visibility to oneself, precludes any possibility of sacking (firing) this guy. It isn't an option. Whenever someone like this gets in your hair, you promote him in order to be rid of him. It is obvious from reading Eric's case history that this has been happening to him already. I write about this effect in The Sceptic Tank

In some corporates, this happens so much that it is very hard to detect who is really running a department and making the real decisions. I've often been surprised to find the management offices in companies full of people like Eric, and almost by accident I've found the real powerhouse of a department in an out-of-the-way spot bereft of any symbols of status. The real managers often occupy low-status jobs in the organisation, but at least they are left in peace and don't have to worry about the 'Eric's of this world.

In the past, I have used an alternative, but infallible technique which I here pass on for posterity. You flatter the guy to death. Not literally, I admit. In Eric's case, he was always thinking he was underpaid and undervalued. Exploit this by saying that we all could see his huge potential, but sadly, there were few opportunities in this company on the titanic scale his talents deserved. Keep the hints going. Pander to his ego. He will become bolder and more confident in his self esteem. Everybody believes they are immune to flattery. It sometimes helps to soften these guys up by saying 'I can see that you're too shrewd to be taken in by flattery'. Infallible. Eventually, frustrated by our inability to find a role that matches his potential, he will look elsewhere. I have managed the bullseye in the past of persuading an 'Eric' to resign and flounce out before he has another job to go to.