When you have an incompetent boss who seems like a mere speed bump in your path to greatness, going over his head might sound like a logical and efficient strategy. But remember: Speed bumps can be dangerous. If you hit one the wrong way, you just might get thrown off the road.

Take this tale from “Career Warfare,” a nice collection of advice from author David F. D’Alessandro, chief executive officer of John Hancock Financial Services:

“I once worked with a guy — let’s call him Doug — who actually did a fantastic job of selling the corporation’s services all over the country,” D’Alessandro says in the book, which he wrote with Michele Owens. “But he gained a reputation for going around his boss and telling his boss’ boss how much he had done, even to the point of badmouthing his boss.

“Doug was terrific at his job. But he did not understand how power worked. And — surprise, surprise — he ended up getting transferred suddenly to the international division, which promptly sent him to some obscure corner of the world, a place from which he never re-emerged. He had worked years for a promotion, only to be drop-kicked to another planet.

“Doug clearly didn’t understand that badmouthing his boss put him in a race against time. Before his boss could get to him, he needed to get his boss’ boss to acknowledge that he was more important than his boss. And that didn’t happen.

“In fact, in case you are tempted to try the same thing, it almost never happens. And not just because the boss’ boss is not necessarily going to be interested in tearing down the hierarchy just for your benefit. But also because he or she is aware that if you have willingly betrayed one superior, you will have no compunction about someday betraying him or her, as well. You are branded a dangerous character in the eyes of the higher-ups.”

My two cents: On top of all that, the only way your coup could be successful is if one of the higher-ups is willing to concede — at least implicitly — that hiring your boss was a mistake. How many executives are emotionally secure enough to admit something like that?

Good offshoring information: If you just can’t read enough about the global jobs situation and how American companies are sending white-collar positions overseas, BusinessWeek Online has put out a nice collection of stories March 22 at www.businessweek.com. If you have trouble finding it, just search for “offshoring.”

Included are interviews with Scott Kriens, CEO of Juniper Networks in Sunnyvale, and Richard N. Bolles, author of “What Color Is Your Parachute?” Another article has an interview with researcher Bob Morison, who explains why there still should be a shortage of American workers within six years or so, as more Baby Boomers retire.

Packing it up: Possibly because of the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, ousted executives are less willing than they have been in years — and probably even decades — to relocate because of a new job.

A survey of 3,000 discharged managers and executives by the global outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that only 13.9 percent moved to land a new job in 2003. That made it the lowest level since Challenger began the survey in 1986.

In the fourth quarter, it was even less, with only 12.7 percent relocating. Maybe that’s a sign that people think jobs will bounce back in their own areas, but it could also mean that they’re still clinging to family and friends in the aftermath of the attacks

For those at any level who are willing to move, CEO John Challenger points to two metropolitan areas with very low unemployment rates that both have major universities: Columbia, Mo. (2.2 percent in January), and Bryan-College Station, Texas (2.3 percent).

Challenger says other metropolitan areas where the rate was 3 percent or less, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, were Gainesville and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Athens, Ga.; Charlottesville, Va.; Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.; and Madison, Wis.