This is not a Democracy.
Sep 30Today my personal blogg takes on a very important role as i use it to officially make a "press statement" following the termination of my contract at Harte Hanks. Before rumours go around like wildfire and my name and reputation are put on the line , I would like to point out just what the reasons for my dismissal where. Whenever you collect enough dust its by no means hard to create a landslide. When you sum up enough errors someone makes you can easily stick them together to make a big ball of blame. When you read the words just right you can make a sentence sound any way you want to. Each of us has his own truth and we all look at the world from our own point of view. To each his own truth. No matter how strong you are you cannot stop a sandstorm and no matter how steady you stand, there is no way to fight quicksand. The inevitable cannot be put off. The bottom line is that my mentality, the way i do things, handle people, and see trough people, threatened the balance of power and knowledge in the department i worked. As the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one I can surely understand the reaction and the actions that followed it. Sometimes people work together like a charm, sometimes they collide. I have the utmost respect for my colleagues and understand that some of them found it difficult to 'get along' with my 'challenging' personality. But as a wise man once said : "This is not a democracy".(but then again : what is it ?) The other reason for my dismissal was the fact that I had already negotiated with another firm for a job opening, because, as you know , I have recently purchased a house and job stability is important for me. I still had temp-contracts with Harte Hanks and was looking forward to getting 'the contract' to be enlisted on the payroll of the company. However there where also promising options elsewhere. Because these options where contradictory I found myself betting on two horses. When i was asked by my superior if I had job-options with other companies I had to withhold the truth because I wanted to give the HH-option all the best chances. Disclosure of the information would have damaged these. I find myself deeply troubled by this, for the truth is a very important value for me, and was forced into a position where I could not be true to this value. This was very hard for me , I try to be a man of my word, but the ends justified the means. As my departure with the company has gone so fast I have not found the time to say just how nice it was to work there. Surely there have been ups and downs and in the long run, I might not have "fitted in" in the current picture. But still. It was fun to work with all these nice people. As the Vulcans once said : "The honour is to serve". Now I am overlooking a new horizon and as I gaze back I am grateful for the things I have learned and perhaps for the small but crucial insight I have brought into the whole. Goodbye my whacky Italian, Dutch, Russian, Swedish, American, Belgian and other friends. I wish you all the best.
