In these times of financial uncertainty and professional insecurity, I've come to involve myself in the company strategic doings more proactively than I have in the past. I used to think that only three kinds of people enhabited this office: those who did things for (i) themselves, those who did things for (ii) the company and those who did things for (iii) the clients. I felt great pride in casting myself as the only representative of the latter (I can't count he-who-wears-all-the-hats, and combines all three with genuine enthusiasm). This state of affair was all fine and well so long as I did not feel the need to do anything for either (i) and (ii), which lasted for a while since (i) had no grand carreer designs and (ii) was doing great, thank you very much.
The past six months have been a little dull for (ii). Not quite Woolworth bad but just enough to feel the pinch through your trousers. The problem is, since (ii) isn't doing so good, there isn't much of (iii) to look after and I find myself putting in long hours for (ii) in the hope that (a) more (iii) will come for me to look after and return to my in-it-for-the-people-white-collar status, but more importantly that (b) (ii) will not do like the rest of them and go tits up in the next six months, which would obviously be detrimental to (i).
And there I am, ploughing away, counting money rather than smiles because if it ain't coming in today, well, it won't be coming in tomorrow and I ask myself where did it all go wrong? Was I wrong to think that I could be a Zidane, playing for Bolton and never get stuck in (the cherub among coal miners)? "What I do, I do for the people". Yeah, right. Hang around the coal miners for too long and, chances are you're going to get dirty (no offence, we've never met).
The point is that all along I must have been (was) in it for (i) and that depressing truth is slowly creeping in. Time for a change?
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