Money is power. It puts you in charge in more ways than one. It affords you opportunities that others without it simply do not have.
Now, don't take me the wrong way here. While it is true that money allows one to control things, and situations, and even people to some extent, we are not necessarily talking about using the power money provides in hurtful ways. The idea is not to use money to push people around. Money simply empowers you to be able to make choices for yourself rather than be forced to have choices made for you by somebody else who you need more than they need you.
Think about it. If you have an unruly landlord, however unruly he is, he has something you want and need. And unless you have money, if you don't want to live there anymore, you may not be able to afford to move somewhere better. He's got the money. He's got the house. He also has the power. He's in charge.
Same goes for an unruly boss. Unless you can afford to quit and get something better, it's his way or the highway. And so, lacking money to empower yourself to make a choice, that choice is made for you by the one who has the money.
I bring this up as a prelude to my latest installment (or update) to what I have been on and on about for the past few weeks regarding A Major Decision in the Next Couple of Weeks (read.cash).
I usually don't like to fog my articles with links that are not incorporated into the text such as I did above. But if you want the full back story, I feel it won't harm anything to just go ahead and toss them out there if you happen to be interested. But it is not necessary to read them.
The thing is that I still have not come to a full decision yet as to whether or not I will stick around at my current job, or initiate my plans to go into semi-retirement. The good news is that I am getting closer.
But that is not necessarily a good thing for my boss. Why? Because I have money, and that money also gives me power. No matter what happens, or who decides what that is, I am the one in charge. I get to call the shots.
But again, it is not a matter of simply laying down demands or ultimatums. No, that's not how it works. That is not how it should work. And that should never be the aim of one who has the power.
As I sort of put it to the boss we are essentially on equal terms here. I want to stay if that is practical for me, and he wants me to stay because he basically values what I contribute to the company. But we both have decisions to make in order for this to all work out in everyone's best interests.
It has been made official. The warehouse guy will have his last day on October 1st. It was the 15th before. But this is happening no matter what. An ad has been placed, and steps are being taken to make our best effort to replace him as soon as possible. We have some prospects. Some good. Some not so good.
Did the boss do it entirely the right way? The short answer is no. He did not. We knew full well that the warehouse guy we have now was a temporary thing. And about no less than two months ago the go ahead was given by the company president to hire someone before, not after the current warehouse guy would have his last day.
The boss drug his feet. Most of it was that he did not want to pay another guy in the interim. Regardless of whatever fueled his decision, here's where we are and this is the situation we are in now. That's the boss's fault in my opinion. We did not properly prepare for what we knew was coming.
This reality has an impact on what I ultimately decide and how I choose to shape that decision.
As it stands right now the boss has two weeks to show me progress. Well, three if you consider the current week. Again, this is not me wielding my mighty wallet and making demands. It is simply a product of the power I have because of my money to make a decision that may not be in the best interests of my boss.
I think he understands that I am serious. And I think he also understands that I do have this power. I think he knows full well that the ball is in his court, and whatever happens next is entirely up to him.
The week after the warehouse guy leaves I will have to spend some time working in the warehouse. That is an inevitable thing. The week after that I will be out of the office most of the week traveling to Kansas for a business trip.
It is during this time that I will likely finalize my decision. And that will be based entirely on what happens between the 1st and essentially the 15th of October. It depends on what our prospects look like and what decisions get made based on them.
We have a guy we fired pre-pandemic that is not working now, and while he is not the best choice, he's something.
If we cannot find a suitable replacement in the two weeks following our warehouse guy's departure, and we don't at least consider bringing in that other guy—I am done.
My exact resignation date would still have to be worked out. But the decision will nonetheless be finalized as to whether the resignation will be handed over. Most likely, though, it would be immediate.
Sometimes you need to decide many things, but you can do better, when you do some bossy to boss. Rest prepare fir Kansas.