I work in a jungle. Not metaphorically. I’m talking about a real jungle.
Right now I’m watching a 75 pound Rottweiler squirm around on his back, making funny noises, trying to bait a Boxer into playing. The Boxer just sits there and yawns. I have no idea what that means, unless maybe he’s bored.
As I recline in the office La-Z-Boy - where I do much of my writing - my head rests lightly on a fluffy black pillow named Clyde. He likes to just lay there while I work. Once in a while I reach back and pet him and he purrs. That I get.
If you think this is bizarre, I don’t blame you. I think it’s bizarre too. But still, I’d bet my office environment is tame compared to the jungle you work in.
Sometimes people ask me why I gave up working in corporate America at such a young age (I don’t think I was young - I was 46 - but that’s what they ask). Well, I have a few canned answers, like:
“The workplace has become too PC for a dysfunctional control freak like me.”
“I burned out on the endless travel, meetings, and political crap.”
“I achieved everything I wanted to achieve in corporate America.”
“‘Been there, done that’ working in other people’s companies; now it’s time for Tobak Inc.”
“Nobody would hire me. I mean, would you? Seriously, would you?”
And while all those answers are true (except maybe the last one), the real answer is more likely this:
It’s a jungle out there - a crazy, random, stressful, risky environment for an executive. I much prefer my safe little controlled cocoon where I get to call the shots, the only metric is revenue, and I have no boss and only one peer whose moves I know pretty well after 20 years.
If this sounds at all like I’m being smug about my position, I assure you, I’m not. I spent 23 years working my tail off in the jungle. Not the dogs and cats one, the other jungle. I paid my dues.
Also, believe me when I say I’ve sacrificed a great deal to do what I’m doing now: the excitement of innovation, the challenge of developing great products, the camaraderie of being part of a management team, the customer relationships, the regular paycheck, the recognition, and of course, the perks.
But now I get to pass along all I’ve learned and experienced to those of you out there in the jungle, just as others did for me on my journey. Hope it helps to light your path, throw you a line, or maybe even get you out of quicksand once in a while. That, for me, makes the sacrifice worthwhile.
