Dan leaned back in his chair.
His non-power chair. His ‘one day I hope to have a leather chair with a very high back but I’m not there yet’ chair. His chair that once had enough padding but now, well let’s just say that aggressive sitting was ill-advised. Aggressive sitting and that juvenile game he used to play with Tony, involving a wastepaper bin and a pair of sports socks.
He was ticked off, and despite its deficiencies, it wasn’t his chair’s fault.
He wasn’t just ticked off because he’d heard what Mia had said many times before, or even because he’d said it himself and was embarrassed at setting a bad example. And he wasn’t even ticked off because he agreed.
He was ticked off because he suddenly knew that he didn’t understand the problem. And, if he didn’t understand the problem, he was unlikely to be part of the solution. And, surprisingly to him, he still wanted to be part of the solution.
‘The trouble with this place is a total lack of leadership.’
The statement seemed caught in an intergalactic void, causing it to echo around the room, back and forward through the space-time continuum. Or at least around in Dan’s head.
‘Lack of leadership...lack of leadership...lack, lack, lack…leadership, leadership…trouble, trouble…this place, this place…’
‘What’s the point Dan?’ Mia continued, clearly oblivious to the space-time continuum, ‘We’ll keep doing the same things for a dwindling number of punters until nobody’s left, and then what? GPK won’t be a name that makes your CV more appealing. And don’t expect a lucrative redundancy payout.’
‘Come on Mia,’ Dan responded, ‘Look at this place – George has built it from nothing. You can’t do that without being a good leader.’
Mia wasn’t swayed by his outburst of respect and loyalty. She fired back, ‘He built it thirty years ago and now he seems intent on making it to retirement with the least amount of change! You can’t keep losing ground and believe that things will turn around by themselves!’
Of course she had a point. And as his conversation with Mia wound up, Dan’s mood shifted to feeling affirmed in his decision to leave. Now was the time to get out. With his resumé ready to go, he was confident he would find another job by the end of year. He’d done his share of caring and being ticked off by things; it was time to cut the ties.
If you caught Dan in a reflective moment, he would likely say that many of the last eight years were positive enough. Only in recent times had his awareness of the bigger picture became clear. The numbers weren’t terrible, but neither were they good. Goals were set, and many were even achieved. But something was missing.
Dan tidied his desk calmly, logged out of the network and packed his bag. Turning to go, he noticed something odd in his desk tray. Wow! A letter. Who sends a letter?
Despite his better judgment, he reached to pick it up.
Office of the Court Administrator? What’s this about?
Opening the envelope his internal calm dissolved as he read, “In the matter of Lazinski v GPK Inc...you are hereby summoned to appear...11:15am on the 22nd of May...Court room 2...recommend that you seek legal advice...”
Dan collapsed back into his chair...too aggressively.
‘Owww!!!’
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