End of an Era

Today was my boss’s last day.  He had been with the company for over six years, and hired pretty much everyone on the team, including myself.  And while we have known other bosses during those six years (such as the one-year stint when he got demoted), in the hearts of his people, he was always the boss.  He garnered a sense of respect that no other leader of the team did.  He was loved.  He will be missed.

In the last three months, I saw flashes of the man that I knew in the beginning.  He was more focused on his associates, more engaged in the team, and more humble and thoughtful.  The experiences and politics that he had endured over the years had finally broken him.  And when you are broken, then God can finally help you reorient and see what matters.

In his words, he was able to see his legacy and be proud of what we had built.  He could be satisfied that he was leaving things in a better place than when we started.  I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring.  If I have learned anything about corporate life, it is to expect everything and just go with the flow.  We will adapt; we always do.  I hope the next steps allow us to build on the foundation we have and reach the potential that is sitting untouched and untapped.  We are in a good place, but we can be so much more.  My biggest fear is that we will get someone that will just keep the status quo.