You don’t run multi-tens of billion business...
Right. And since those businesses are the problem, I see no error.
Not all my clients were small.
The one where I kicked the executive offer off a call is publicly traded and has hundreds(thousands?) of employees and international branches.
I also prefer to work in a team. Logistics and support are wonderful things.
It was the same when I was in the military.
I have told a 3-star general to his face that he doesn't understand the problem he is trying to solve, and what he wants us to do makes him look incompetent. I would obviously still DO what he asked, but there were things we could be doing right now that would fix the issue while making him look good.
I got a verbal reprimand from my suporvisor for that one. I had way less... tact when I was an E-4.
I also got a semi-official spot as the general's "technical aide"(since that position doesn't exist. But generals do what they want), two medals of merit, a letter of thanks from a congressional committee for that project and the follow-up(or maybe an award? I was deployed at the time...), and got a handful of phone calls for "advice" from the general after I transferred to a different base.[1]
It has also worked just fine for the 3-letter agencies I have worked with/for.
In fact, one of the most important things I learned while in DoD work is that "No" is a perfectly valid answer, but you had better follow it up with either "...but I will find out" if it's something you don't know, or "...but I can do X instead which will make you look better."
A GOOD leader always listens to their subordinates outside of an emergency.
The only way to deal with a bad leader is to insulate yourself and others from them. Coddling them serves no one.
We all claim to take the high road, even if in reality, we take the low road. At the end of the day, he who makes the most money wins. Right and wrong be damned.
Nahh. That's just the lies they tell you(and themselves) to justify their actions.
You don't need money to buy happiness if you are already happy with your own actions.
The high road has such beautiful views.
Why fight it out in the mud just to pay for a nice helicopter ride every once in a while?
Don't get me wrong.
I would kill to survive. I'm aware of exactly how far I will go when required(unfortunately...).
But once you have enough money for food, shelter, and self-improvement, anything else is just a number.
It's just not worth it.
Call it The High Road, or even self-righteous stubbornness if you like.
But I can honestly say I understand my own "price"(which everyone has), and I know that there are things I won't do unless forced to, no matter how many zeros are on the check.
[1] Refusing to play politics when it got in the way of or directly opposed my job did eventually tarnish my career though.
Though I won't take the whole blame for that one. My final base had a totally deserved reputation of ruining careers.
It had something like 0.5% of the re-enlistments of any other base.
It was an unholy crab-bucket of politics and backstabbing as people did what they could to escape it's black-hole like pull.
*shrug It is what it is. I'll take my own integrity any day.
