Corporate Life
(Originally posted on my last day of work at Sun, I did not post this to my public version, but now that the years have passed, and Sun is gone, I thought it would be ok to re-post this now. Names changed or removed to protect the innocent.)
There's been enough of you that have been down here, that you know what I mean when I say, "I'm sitting in Rico's Scotch Lounge". So here I am, engulfed in my leather club chair, sipping on a 28-year-old Convalmore (thanks guys!), pondering my last day at Sun and my 9-year legacy.
As you saw from the note I sent to the masses, it's been tremendous fun working here with you guys. Some have not been around long enough to bear witness to the now legendary events (e.g. Spondivits, various Sunrise shenanigans, kickoffs in San Diego and Montreal), and not all were at the beer tasting fiasco down in Yaletown (which we never received the bill for, BTW). But I know that there will be many new stories, and a raft of events that will become your new, cherished legends. So that's what this blog note (blote?) is all about - not looking backward, but forward. As I said to our sales director in an e-mail a few weeks ago, this isn't about me, but rather about you (i.e. Sun Canada, or in this case, the TELUS team), and keeping everyone moving forward toward your common goal.
As you saw from the note I sent to the masses, it's been tremendous fun working here with you guys. Some have not been around long enough to bear witness to the now legendary events (e.g. Spondivits, various Sunrise shenanigans, kickoffs in San Diego and Montreal), and not all were at the beer tasting fiasco down in Yaletown (which we never received the bill for, BTW). But I know that there will be many new stories, and a raft of events that will become your new, cherished legends. So that's what this blog note (blote?) is all about - not looking backward, but forward. As I said to our sales director in an e-mail a few weeks ago, this isn't about me, but rather about you (i.e. Sun Canada, or in this case, the TELUS team), and keeping everyone moving forward toward your common goal.
You guys all know I am a geek at heart - I watched every episode of Star Trek as a kid, and yes, I have a downloaded copy of the entire original 3-year series. It's actually the concept of the Borg that springs to mind here - the "Collective" and the power that they had together, instead of the sum of the individual contributors. I, as an individual, am not what has made Sun successful at TELUS; it's you - all of you, working together as a team that have been the winning combination. Truly, I have you to thank for my success at Sun - and some who are no longer here too. But the point is, that taking out a single Borg has minimal impact, as the combined entity of the Collective is virtually unstoppable. Our results this year proved that when the past leader left, we were still more than capable of winning as a team; my departure will be no different. There's a scene near the beginning of the movie Enemy at the Gate, where Jude Law, as a young Vasily Zaytsev, is amongst the thousands of Red Army soldiers tasked with repelling the Nazis from Stalingrad. They are lined up to get their guns, but since weapons are limited, only every other infantryman gets a rifle. A sergeant shouts over a megaphone, "When the man with the rifle goes down, the man behind him picks up the rifle and shoots!". Ok, so I don't want you to pick up the wrong metaphor here - I did not get "shot"; you all know that. No, the relevant analogy is that the next guy picks up where the other guy left off, without hesitation. You can't stop to check on how he is, take him back to the command post for triage, or re-group to change your attack plan. No, you keep moving forward, utilizing the same strategy. I've used other military comparisons in past blogs; in this situation, it's even more apropos.
Your enemy (the competition) is going to look for weaknesses during times of leadership change, and try to exploit those areas. Your job is to fill the gaps, stay on the offensive, and keep them on their heels. When I last checked, we are at over 105% of plan - now is the time to start lobbing grenades into Nazi territory and attacking with all your vigour! Take no prisoners! For those of you not up on your history, the Russians defeated the Germans in Stalingrad, and their victory was a key turning point in the war.
Keep up the fight.
Rich
