Goals
Great trip, but far too short. I learned a lot about what's going on at the company and where my project might fit in. My boss gave a quick presentation to a room full of company employees who were hearing about us for the first time. It was well received, and the best part was some random dude who blurted out "whoa, this is cool..." to the guy next to him. We are all about delighting customers so hopefully that comment means we are off to a good start.
Friends
I apologize to everyone I didn't get a chance to see. I made promises to a number of you that I couldn't keep simply because of time constraints. My friends are very important to me and it pains me to know I let a number of you down. I certainly hope to make that up next trip.
Personal
I also learned about professionalism, honesty and revisionist history. I won't weave a web of intrigue or play "he said - she said". Suffice it to say, I have a very different opinion of things that went on during my last year in Seattle. I'm reminded of the former Soviet Union, the purges and persecutions (no, I'm not getting a complex..). I was convicted in absentia and burned in effigy. Of course, I'm exaggerating. Everything I know about this process, I learned second hand through others that I respect and who respect me. This process was carried out, in secret, by those who had already formed their conclusion. Why wasn't I given a chance to review the fact and refute them, or at least mount some defense? I can only assume it's because they are only interested in what they want to believe. I have direct data that flies in the face of what they are saying and I believe they are missing the motivation for a number of the decisions I made. Apparently there was an analysis written and sent to senior management. I've never seen it and was not asked to comment.
Worse yet, most of them are civil to my face and have never mentioned a word about this. I believe this all to be cowardly and unprofessional. Accuse me in the open, to my face. I'm a big boy and I can handle it.
Posted by cbrown at August 20, 2005 6:45 PM