what once was

the old corporate building is closed now, it's been replaced by a shining new facility in a neighboring town complete with reduced staff, and smaller then ever work spaces.

as i pull into the parking lot of the old facility i'm reflecting on how i started as a consultant. all the buildings bustling with people from varying functions, sales and marketing, corporate finance, manufacturing, even a complete machine shop where everything was made from raw materials. who's idea was this? it was like the car manufacturer saturn where from raw materials finished goods were designed, built, and sold. seems odd to be reminiscing when i'm still employed and so many others have gone.

lunch time is where everyone met in the cafeteria, warm sunny days on the patio conversing with friends and coworkers. we talked about the latest projects and buzz about who's working on this or that or what we did over the weekend. eventually i hired on as project manager and became more ingrained in the company culture. trust, loyalty, a sense of family were at the core of our values meaning one could work in teams or completely unsupervised and still accomplish our goals. it was the best of times.

dismantling the vision
machine shops were the first to close, outsourced to another company. followed by print shops and any other function that could be outsourced. next various labs and product lines sold off and consolidated as the pick of the crop moved over to the new building. something else was being dismantled as well, core values of trust and loyalty disappeared as quickly as the hundreds of people that lost their jobs. new senior managers appeared and along with them a sense of mis trust and micro management. it is the worst of times.

i sit here staring into empty buildings from the parking lot that was once so full of cars you couldn't find a space by 8:30AM, as some 1,500 employees started their day, now just me and one other car in site probably the remaining security guard roaming empty buildings and hallways. weeds are growing up through various cracks i see an old cat crawling low on the inside of the perimeter fence no doubt looking for a tasty mouse or any other small thing that moves.

i'll always remember the sights and smells, friends and co workers, exciting projects and accomplishments even when the buildings are gone and the new mall or houses or whatever replaces whats left here.

i'm thinking of something better, a way to communicate my thoughts based on what i love, untainted by decisions of others, something inspired by soul and passion and drive, something innate to the competitor inside me.

after what seems like an hour of drifting i decide i can no longer be satisfied with the shallowness my career has become.

it is with these thoughts n8 soul is born