Reid Hoffman's replacement by a professional manager as chief exec of LinkedIn all looks smoothly handled. The business network's founder, like a man planning his own funeral, interviewed his own successors. He remains as chairman. From colleagues, the classic refrain: Reid is "brilliant", which usually means that he's not the world's most effective manager, but, nevertheless, flattering. It was a nice touch to reveal the changes, first, in an edit to Hoffman's LinkedIn profile page. Only one false note: nobody is called "president of products" — the new title Hoffman has assumed — unless there's a seriously bruised ego to salve.

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