129

Sometimes the devil is in the details. The number, 129, in the title tells of the days between 27 March and 3 August 2009. This period will be one I take to the grave, whenever that day may be. The beginning of this journey was one fraught with relief and dread the day I was let go at Georgia-Pacific. I truly did not know what direction I was headed, no plan was in place and all of a sudden, the world opened itself up to me.

No longer would I be one to be put on a shelf or back burner, bringing up the rear while others bask in the glory. Even though I did not have a plan that rainy Friday morning, I finally felt liberated of the artificial constraints of that place. This time I made a pact with me that the silliness that transpired between 2001 to 2009 would be no more because this time, I determined to do things differently. The only plan I had were fuzzy ideas in my head.

Now some 129 days after that fateful, liberating day I can say that I have transformed and reinvented myself into someone who has no fear. Georgia-Pacific is in the financial straits it is in not because of me, Kenneth Webb or those 14 others let go in the last several months. Georgia-Pacific and Koch are in their dire positions because the individuals running those companies don't have a clue.

Koch and GP have rested on their laurels, claiming that they have profited over a zillion per cent over the past 40 years. Well, that was 40 years ago and the world was a lot different then. What companies like Koch and GP faced was "artificial competition" where all the players were cut from the same cloth. Those days are long gone and if these same companies rely on the same narrow minded people to run their ships, they won't survive another 10 years, let alone 40.

The people who were let go were the wrong folks, we only followed orders and when we suggested different we were slapped in the face. Now, the chickens have come home to roost, with their profit margins falling rapidly, Koch and GP are at a lost as to what happened. Well, look at the leadership, it all starts from the top. For all their blather, both of these companies are run on 20th century models that were outdated long ago. It is going to get worse for them, not better because the rules of the game has changed and the leaders in those companies are to ossified to move rapidly and change.

I head to Memphis tomorrow on a mission, and that mission is to do all I can to advance ideas, be innovative and take business away from my former employer. Why? Because these narrow minded people don't deserve to have it - that's why!