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| a slice of cake (not very good) stolen from tonight's meeting... bad omen? |
Today was my boss's final day at our company, according to his contract. Will the boss's contract be renewed, and will our R&D department continue to exist? The CEO said he needed to meet and have a long talk with our boss, and that evolved into something more. We all had to attend a meeting at 8 this evening—after four delays and several changes of venue—to talk about what R&D does, why it's significant, and what the future might hold if we were allowed to exist. We basically had to audition at this late date—to sing for our supper.
To that end, we hammered out a long, long PowerPoint presentation over the past two days, then our boss gave that presentation this evening while my American coworker and I periodically chimed in. After the presentation, there was a tense discussion during which the CEO emphasized that the company was at a crucial juncture, and that streamlining and cost-cutting were in order. For prudential reasons, I won't go into any detail about what was said, but the upshot is this: the CEO won't make a decision about my boss's future tonight, but will speak with my boss before the beginning of the work day Monday, i.e., he'll contact my boss either late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
So we three subordinates are all in a sword-of-Damocles situation right now. I'm a bit sad that things have turned out this way, but ultimately, it is what it is. If the boss isn't with us on Monday, we proles will be shunted to another department, separately or together, and we'll either continue the work we've begun, or we'll be assigned new projects to work on. If that happens, I'll finish out my contract with the company and then leave for greener pastures. Ultimately, I want to become my own boss, and I'm taking steps in that direction. In the meantime, it's enough to get through the weekend. By Monday, we'll all know whether the team remains together or gets disbanded.
Wow. Sorry for you all. How long has your boss been with the company? Any idea what he'll do if he is not renewed? I seem to recall he was exiled once before and made the best of it. Can he retire or will he need to find a new job? Of course, hopefully, the CEO sees the light and the value your group brings to the company. Somehow I don't see that happening. I hope I'm wrong.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I know you will land on your feet. Sometimes a situation like this proves to be the opportunity to move onto greater things. Good luck either way!
The boss has been with the company about fifteen years. He has been in Korea for over thirty years, and during that time, he's formed a ton of different connections, so I don't think he lacks for opportunities and options. He has said that he'd like to continue working with me in some capacity no matter what happens, so who knows what that might mean?
ReplyDeleteI have until my 52nd birthday (31 Aug) to form some kind of plan. We'll see how that goes.