Never give up

A colleague of mine recently pointed me to an article that talked about how some companies believe that anyone can be replaced. The article suggested that when a company has a truly great employee, that person tends to have extensive product knowledge, client relationships, camaraderie and influence with co-workers that is difficult  if not impossible, to replace.

Having worked with great people for most of my career, I was sheltered from what goes on in the rest of the world. There are indeed individuals that just don’t understand the value of great employees and do believe that everyone can be replaced. If you had asked me if people like that existed or were successful several years ago, I would have had a different answer than I do today.

Anyone can be replaced, but there is a cost that can be substantial and is often not taken into account. That could be because truly great employees tend to just get the job done and not promote themselves.

My 35 years in the tech industry has taught me to recognize good and bad environments and how to vote with my feet, when there are no other options. Good guys don’t finish last but they can take a beating along the way.

I have a jeep poster at my desk that sums up my approach to work and private life. It says “Go over, Go under, Go around, Or go through, But never give up!”