This week, my friend and former boss from my days as AgileMan handed in his resignation to the company that I left behind 13 months ago. With each new departure that's come along since I made my final exit, I'm increasingly convinced that I wouldn't really recognize the place anymore. When I was there, I was very invested in the people, the processes, and the products. Since leaving, I've found that the only part of it that I care about at all is the personnel, and that component becomes smaller in number every month.
What this helps me to remember, though, is that companies exist to make money. It may feel like a family when you're part of it, as it has for me in both of my long-term employment experiences, but it's really just a business. In each case, I got out of Dodge as soon as I felt like I didn't fit the direction things were headed any longer, and I think that's the only healthy response. Had I stayed, especially in my AgileMan role, I'd have been sand in the gears of a machine much larger than me. And that sort of thing's just stupid, when after all: it's only a job.
Congratulations to my friend who's about to embark on a new set of challenges and opportunities. I wish him only the best and hope that he's as re-energized by a change of scenery as I expect him to be.
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Indeed it is just a job, and the people are the only thing that matters. After 25+ years in this business I've decided to only take jobs where the people are fun to be around. Unfortunately in many cases the mood of the people change as the corporate environment changes. I'd always take less pay to be surrounded by a great group of people who make going to work an exciting idea!
Best of luck to your former boss, I know from experience how much fun a new challenge can be :)
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