That’s what I am, beginning tomorrow... for a little while, anyway.
Today marks the last day of my long-standing gig at the Great Corporate Salt Mine, a gig that began on the very day Richard Nixon resigned his office as President of the United States.
With the exception of a two-year sabbatical at a different employer, that’s over 34½ years. I’ve spent those years in everything from technology to sales to marketing to supply chain, and some of the customers I’ve cultivated and developed have joined the ranks of the business’s most profitable accounts. Which means Jack-Shit, since the Salt Mine does not pay commissions to its own salespeople or managers. But the salary has been ever so reasonable, having succeeded in keeping the wolf away from the door for lo, these many years.
I have, in the course of my Salt Mine Duties, seen a goodly chunk of the planet that I otherwise would not have. Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, the Bahamas, Canada, Belgium... have I forgotten any?
It’s been a great ride, and I’ve had the chance to work with some intelligent, highly motivated people. Good people. And we’ve spent that time, my colleagues and I, in an industry that creates real value and wealth, not a business that merely shuffles money from one pocket to another. It’s an industry that, for better or worse, is central to the economies of the developed nations... and critical for the ability of other nations to join their ranks. I will miss it.
But not overmuch. New ventures are in the works; a great beast slouches toward Bethlehem to be born, even as we speak. I’d tell you more, but then I’d have to kill you. All will be revealed in the fullness of time.
Meanwhile, I am drinking a toast... a glass of fine old single malt... to a lengthy career. Great Corporate Salt Mine, ave atque vale!
Today marks the last day of my long-standing gig at the Great Corporate Salt Mine, a gig that began on the very day Richard Nixon resigned his office as President of the United States.
With the exception of a two-year sabbatical at a different employer, that’s over 34½ years. I’ve spent those years in everything from technology to sales to marketing to supply chain, and some of the customers I’ve cultivated and developed have joined the ranks of the business’s most profitable accounts. Which means Jack-Shit, since the Salt Mine does not pay commissions to its own salespeople or managers. But the salary has been ever so reasonable, having succeeded in keeping the wolf away from the door for lo, these many years.
I have, in the course of my Salt Mine Duties, seen a goodly chunk of the planet that I otherwise would not have. Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, the Bahamas, Canada, Belgium... have I forgotten any?
It’s been a great ride, and I’ve had the chance to work with some intelligent, highly motivated people. Good people. And we’ve spent that time, my colleagues and I, in an industry that creates real value and wealth, not a business that merely shuffles money from one pocket to another. It’s an industry that, for better or worse, is central to the economies of the developed nations... and critical for the ability of other nations to join their ranks. I will miss it.
But not overmuch. New ventures are in the works; a great beast slouches toward Bethlehem to be born, even as we speak. I’d tell you more, but then I’d have to kill you. All will be revealed in the fullness of time.
Meanwhile, I am drinking a toast... a glass of fine old single malt... to a lengthy career. Great Corporate Salt Mine, ave atque vale!
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