The Beginning & The End
The rollercoaster ride of the last year has had plenty of twists and turns, but the first cut was definitely the deepest. Some philosopher or songwriter, probably once said that before we take a step forward we must take two steps backwards, so I wanted to take you back to where this nightmare all began. (Did I just paraphrase Bruce Springsteen? Wow, I feel dirty.) Anyhow, here’s the bumpy ride to the land of unemployment. (Insert harp music for the flashback.) One day, I was managing a staff of about 50 people, most of which were the highly motivated 20 or 30 somethings who were looking to find their place in life. Most of our full-time employees were making barely above minimum wage compared to their colleagues in the industry, while most of our part-time employees were literally making barely above minimum wage. Either way, this group was really happy to be working and it was all worth it, right? We were paying our dues and building a career. We delivered results that we...