I lost a good employee this week. Someone I cared about. He had only been with me for a little over a year, but still it hurts. I fear I lost him to a dark demon of his. I hope I can feel confident I did all I could, but the truth is you always feel like you could have done more.
I will miss you sir, I hope the circle of life brings you back around.
Update – 3 days later
I no longer hope that life brings you back around. I think it will. I think that you will go out and explore life and realize you had a good job, and worked for a good company, and had people surrounding you who truly cared about you. Three days ago I would have welcomed you back, and so would have the whole team, with the widest of open arms. You Filled me full of lies. You said you weren’t going elsewhere, that you needed to clear your head, that you had so much respect for Amy and I. It turns out be all lies. I am surprised, but I shouldn’t be. I’m too trusting and I want to give people extra chances. Maybe one day I will learn. Or maybe I won’t, maybe I shouldn’t. If you give 10 people a 2nd chance and 9 of them screw you over, but the 10th thrives and excels and has a beautiful, fulfilled life, were the 10 2nd chances a waste? I have to think not.
Even still, I wish you the best. I hope you can keep your demons away. I hope you find the life you want. I have to do some structural inspecting of our bridge, but I think it may be damaged beyond repair.
Update – 3 years later
Well we mended that bridge. He made apologies and promises that he would never leave like that again, that he was a changed man, and so he came back. While skeptical, the team that he had known prior welcomed him back and everyone was glad to see him. I found a position for him and brought him back and in a short period of time he was showing a great amount of progress. He was promoted into a position that he certainly had the skills to do and then he did what he seems to always do and walked out.
I still don’t wish him ill will but the patched-up bridge that he came back across has now forever fallen into the sea and been washed away.
It always hurts the most when the people you help the most are the ones who end up screwing you over and turning their back.
I will continue to help people to a fault and I’m sure it will continue to bite me in the ass but for the one in ten or one in a hundred that I can truly help, it’s worth the heartbreak of the other nine or 99 that don’t work out.
doing it different 