When I was a young manager, and was interviewing people for a management position reporting to me, I discussed a good candidate with my mentor. I liked this one particular candidate, but he had been fired from his last job. I told my mentor that the guy being fired worried me. He thought a moment and replied “Never trust a man that has never been fired”. This bit of advice has stayed with me for almost three decades, and it was some of the best advice I ever received. (For all of you who have never been fired, please do not go into uproar, and note that the quote is “never trust”, not “cannot trust”.) I think about this advice often, and it has given me a lot of insight into people.
At the base level, what this means is that people deserve a second chance, and that failing once doesn’t mean that people will continuously fail. I am always willing to give people second chances, and often many more than that. I have come to realize that, for the most part, people that have issues almost never overcome them. Almost never. But nevertheless I give them opportunity to overcome their issues – drugs, alcohol, poor performance, bad interpersonal skills, whatever. I often do this in opposition to the advice of my managers and business partner. I personally assume the risk for these decisions. When these decisions go astray, I personally pay a financial and emotional penalty. However, what I have found is that on those rare occasions when people overcome their issues, and when they seize the opportunity given them, I benefit far more than any cost associated with the failures. The fact is I become a better person for having given someone the opportunity to overcome previous failures. It is a tremendous feeling.
At deeper levels, the above statement means that you do not know how someone will react to adversity if they have never had to overcome adversity. Someone who has never failed must not be trusted because it is impossible to tell how they will respond when crisis hits. It is critical to know this about a person if you are going to place trust in them. Some people curl up into a ball when they have failed, or seek refuge in the bottom of a bottle, while others pick themselves up and strive to overcome. I can only give my trust to those people I know will redouble their efforts in time of crisis.
Failure also teaches people about themselves – if they are willing to learn. It teaches them what they do well, and what they do not so well. If they are smart, they concentrate on the good and avoid the bad. It is really quite simple.
Failure can also be a result of factors beyond a person’s control. There is a lot of that going around – manufacturing plants closing, jobs being shed, and political infighting resulting in purges of personnel. A person that gets caught in such a position deserves special consideration, but that person also needs to show the willingness and fortitude to overcome adversity.
Perhaps the most despicable of all are those that fail, are those that do not care that they fail, and actually make a career out of ongoing failure. They have no integrity and no soul. Almost every politician you see is of this ilk. They fail – and they know they fail – at almost anything they do or have ever done. Yet they are so dishonest and lacking in integrity, they opt to retain the trappings of success and power. They do worse than nothing – they actually do ill. It is disgusting.
I have been fired twice in my life. I was a young engineer. I was a terrible engineer. I simply could not finish a project. I would complete it 90%, and then move on to the next project, as I simply did not have the personality to see it all of the way through. I became bored and was always looking for something else to do when I rather was meant to be completing the project in hand. The company rightfully terminated my services. But I learned something very valuable – I was not meant to be an engineer, and was not meant to undertake projects personally. I transitioned into manufacturing management. This I quickly learned suited my skillset and personality, and I began being successful. I also learned that I was a good engineering manager – ie. I could oversee large projects very capably so long as I didn’t have to implement the detail of the project personally.
The second time I was fired was for political reasons. I lost my mentor in a purge at the top of the company – he was a senior VP, and when the president retired, a new president came in and brought his people with him. My boss was let go in the subsequent purge. I attempted to tread the water and become a political animal. I was not good at it, and the new VPs brought in their new darlings, and eventually I was pushed out. And again I learned something valuable about myself – I am not a political animal, and I am not able to change those stripes. I abandoned all semblance of caring about internal manoeuvrings in the companies I worked for, and concentrated solely on doing my job. I became a turnaround manager – and went where plants and companies were in trouble. I was/am extremely good at it. I demanded total autonomy – and got it. I did not care whose toes I stepped on, or what political problems I caused. I focused on the job and only the job. I became much sought after. Companies that hired me knew I would perform, plus they knew I was not out to take anyone’s job at the top. I was actually there to save the people at the top. I would turn a company around and move on. Ultimately I bought into my own business.
The moral of the story is that until people fail, you do not know how they will respond, and it is critical to have this information about people you need to trust. Even though most people do not respond positively to failure, there are those that do. Failure offers the opportunity to reach new heights and concentrate on areas of excellence, if the person is prepared to learn from failure.
Most crucially, for me, having thought about this for many years, I have come to understand just how despicable and disgusting it is that our political leaders cultivate personal success from abject professional failure. They pay no personal price for their failure, and what they learn is that they need not be men of honor and integrity in order to maintain their positions, but rather they learn they can retain all of their trappings of wealth and success by telling ever larger and viler lies. They have learned that their citizens are as morally bankrupt as they themselves, and that they can influence these same voters with welfare, tax cuts, food stamps, and political favor. This flies in the face of all that is good and right, and until these events can be reversed, and until men of honor that learn positive lessons from failure are installed as leaders, and those that are morally bankrupt are displaced, the country will continue a rapid slide toward catastrophe.
llpoh
I can be trusted.
It was your spat with Fred Limpstones that prompted the article.
Of course you can – you learnt, you overcame, you conquered. Overcoming challenges is one of the great joys life has to offer.
It occurs to me that I’ve always looking upon the few times I’ve been fired – guess it was twice – as a shameful event. The second time I was fired, it was not my fault, my employer was about to file bankruptcy. I wasn’t told that and spent about a month trying to determine just what I’d done wrong. Even after it became clear that I was let go purely due to financial considerations, I still felt as though I had to have done something wrong. I felt that way for many years.
The first time I was fired, I deserved it. I was a stupid 19 year-old punk, more interested in partying than doing whatever was needed from me at my work. I’m still ashamed of it. My peers were in college or working at keeping jobs. Me, I was screwing off. They should have kicked me in the butt on the way out the door.
Looking back on all that, I can see that my present employer has reaped the benefit of those two firings. I stay far away from diversions at work – a direct result of getting canned for doing otherwise in my youth. Also, I stay keenly aware of my employers financial situation, which leads me to make decisions which are more beneficial to my company. I do not waste a cent, and I am constantly searching for improvements in methods and practices that may otherwise be routine to others employees.
Oddly enough, I’ve never even thought about all that until I read your post. My Midwestern upbringing has always had me hanging my head in shame over having been fired by an employer. Thanks for the insight.
Terry – my pleasure. One of the reasons I wrote this was for folks exactly like you. You have overcome. You have learned. You are the reason it is so important that people get more than one chance. As I said, I deserved getting fired once. I was poorly suited to the position. But I learned from the experience. It was painful, but very valuable. And experience has made me much more willing to go out on a limb for people.
Really glad you are doing well. Really good idea about keeping an eye on the financial position of your company.
LLPOH
Thanks for the commentary. I always take something away from your personal experiences. I believe you learn most when you overcome adversity. I have realized that most successful people have had a mentor in their life that has helped them grow as an individual. I have had people along the way provide me with wisdom that has helped me tremendously but I have yet to find a mentor that I can come to and talk with about my experiences. How do you build a relationship with a mentor? Is there a way to find a mentor or do I just need to be patient and wait for the time when I meet the right person? My current boss loves me and he wants me to be a bigger role in his companies even though he knows I will not be with him for the long haul since I want to own my own business one day. Unfortunately, I don’t look up to my boss. I don’t see anything in him that I want to emulate really. Any advice on mentors will be greatly appreciated.
“I have come to understand just how despicable and disgusting it is that our political leaders cultivate personal success from abject professional failure. They pay no personal price for their failure, and what they learn is that they need not be men of honor and integrity in order to maintain their positions, but rather they learn they can retain all of their trappings of wealth and success by telling ever larger and viler lies”
Excellent short story. They must teach this in the first year of law school: “Do not succeed. Your job is to muddy the waters, create conflict, spend other people’s money, and foster chaos”. The lawyers/politicians oath. We might have a chance if this moral bankruptcy is displaced, as you say.
Some quotes along the same lines. BTW, I’ve been fired several times. Best thing that could have happened to me.
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. ~Thomas Edison
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald
Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. ~Henry Ford
Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.
– Abraham Lincoln –
My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.
– Abraham Lincoln
Jmarz – it takes a person of substance to be a mentor. They need skill/experience/education. Your current job doesn’t have such,it seems. They are most likely found in larger companies, or in educational institutions, if you are lucky. You need to keep you eye out for benevolent types – the business world is full of psychopaths, who are to be avoided at all costs.
One place I have seen a lot of mentor types is in industry associations (think Lion’s clubs, Chamber of Commerce, etc.) or management clubs. Perhaps your current employer is a member of such or would subsidize you joining one. They often have lots of really good people in them that are overjoyed to help aspirirational young people.
AWD – many thanks. Some great quotes. We have lost much of the essence of success – the part that includes integrity and honor.
LLPOH,
Good story as usual. As a corollary, you can tell a lot about a person by how they react to adversity. I’ve found that in most cases, people who get majorly bent out of shape over small issues have never dealt with (nor overcome) true adversity in their lives. You want to be as far away as possible from these types when the SHTF.
I haven’t been fired in sooooo long, but I remember it clearly.
I also remember no job=peanut butter and wonder bread.
Funny thing is I contemplate firing my boss often but never would. I like steady money and steady work.
Who the fuck said that “Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life” shit, anyway?…
Sounds great, doesn’t it….
“Failure can also be a result of factors beyond a person’s control”
Yeah, like management.
AWD
Those are some fine quotes. I’m going to save those for motivation in the future. Thanks for sharing them.
Thanks ‘Dog et al.
Crazy – if the manager is a psychopath, then it is best to cut and run before he/she can inflict terminal damage. And as I have said, business is full of these types. You have to spot them and then get the fuck away from them. They cannot be saved and they cannot be trusted in any way. The higher you go in the business world the higher the percentage of people are psychopaths. They are attracted by the power business success can bring. Same goes for politics.
jmarz and lipoh:
A correlate to your point is admitting your wrong. In order to learn from a mistake or failure, you first have to admit you were wrong, figure out what you did wrong, and move on (and not do it again). Have you ever heard a politician or a lawyer say “I was wrong, so we’re going to correct it.” No, never, nada. So what happens? The mistakes and lies keep piling up, growing year after year. What if politicians said “Yea, the war on poverty was a mistake, the war of drugs was a mistake. The war in Iraq was a mistake, the bribery and lobbying was a mistake, now we’re going to fix it.” Holy heaven would open up and God himself would start clapping. Nothing the politicians do is a mistake, and they never admit they’re wrong. What a colossal fucking catastrophe that has caused. It’s sociopathic behavior, and it’s inhuman.
I have done very well out of telling customers I am wrong when I am wrong. As long as you fix the issue quickly and efficiently, you can turn a negative into a positive. Politicians destroy everything. They never admit error. I hates them – I hates them all.
LLPOH
Thanks for the advice. Although I am young and inexperienced, I have made it a responsibility to mentor my younger brother. I try and pass along wisdom that I think is valuable and make it a point to make sure he stays on track in life. As I grow and become wiser and more experienced, my wisdom will be more valuable. Everyone needs someone they can grow and learn from. I put heavy importance on leadership and believe we as a country need to become better leaders in society across the board. I hope to see great leaders rise from my generation.
llpoh-
That is the most non-illusional thing I have heard you say,and I agree. Not to say that much of which you say is illusional, just that that was the most non-illusional.
But sometimes a person might have a tendancey to hang around and buck the system to effect change. In the aircraft maintenance business, the passengers were my boss. They never fired me, but a couple of other bozos did, but not without a cost. For my fellow wrenches knew the score, management knew the score, and things subtly changed on my departure.
Excellent article, as usual.
Good night all.
“I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.” George S. Patton
Not that you never fail, but what you do after.
“When these decisions go astray, I personally pay a financial and emotional penalty. However, what I have found is that on those rare occasions when people overcome their issues, and when they seize the opportunity given them, I benefit far more than any cost associated with the failures. The fact is I become a better person for having given someone the opportunity to overcome previous failures. It is a tremendous feeling.” WTF? What kind of evil, capitalist pigman is this?
In honor of Smokey’s return, I throw down the gauntlet for RE to respond. Thanks, llpoh-great lesson- as usual.
Too much, too soon?
If anyone gets the chance, borrow or buy this book “The no asshole rule, building a civilized workplace and surviving one that isn’t”
Absolutely GREAT read 😉
I’m sure we will all relate to much of it. I sure can 🙁
Amazon link :
Aka – be careful what you wish for.
llpoh,
Good story. As some point out, screwing up a job personally, standing by your values, or new management seem to be the top three reason someone get fired.
I got fired once, but I knew it was coming, as my standards were above what the new management thought necessary. Sometimes getting kicked out into the fresh air opens new doors of opportunity.
When someone tells me they worked for the same company for 35 years, I always wonder if they were a lapdog to management.
I wish I could afford to chisel this line in the foreheads of the entire MSM/Fox/print media “journalists” who are seemingly cheerleading this very same behaviour that WILL destroy us.
“They have learned that their citizens are as morally bankrupt as they themselves, and that they can influence these same voters with welfare, tax cuts, food stamps, and political favor. This flies in the face of all that is good and right, and until these events can be reversed, and until men of honor that learn positive lessons from failure are installed as leaders, and those that are morally bankrupt are displaced, the country will continue a rapid slide toward catastrophe.”
Probably too long for an epitaph, but in big enough letters we could chisel it on the Washington Monument.
@llpoh: As always, a great piece. I hope you are retaining these gems because one of these days it will occur to you to string them together, edit them and publish a “how to” that will get rave reviews.
I managed to get myself fired once. Working for the Univ. of Hawaii as an engineer at a laser ranging site atop Mt. Haleakala on Maui.. Unfortunately I was working for their “hot body” subsidiary rather than the University itself.. My problem was that I stayed around too long – the average tenure in RCUH (the hot body corp. they set up to do dirty work) was 4 years. I was working on six and getting too expensive for them.. Also I was (I admit) way to comfortable in the job and was working on automatic. So they tried to fire me. The Project Manager snooped around for a month trying to find things to fire me for and totally failed.
When I got called to Oahu’s UH Astronomy offices to get fired by the big boss I already knew what was coming down the pike. So I struck first..
I told them if they wanted to get rid of me, all they had to do was ask.. They asked and I said sure, provided I got 6 months separation pay, was laid off at the end of the six months and got to exercise my COBRA options for insurance.. They agreed..
Two weeks later, I started building the second home on our property in Kula. Getting kicked out turned out to be a very good thing as a year and a half later I was given a contract to manage another (much bigger) site atop Haleakala at twice the pay. Turned out my old boss needed my cooperation to get another telescope built up there and when he found out I was who he needed, he just up and quit and went to West Virginia to work elsewhere! And the funny thing was, I _never_ gave him any crap at all and would have cooperated 100% to get it done. He was so guilty about doing me in a year before that he just folded up his tent and slunk away to a different job.
So with a little foresight an persistence, you usually get what you deserve. Maybe not be as fast as you want it, but it’ll come around if you keep on working and don’t fret what you can’t prevent.
I never worked on “automatic” again, either….
MA
LLPOH, +1.
LLPOH – Excellent writeup!
I am somewhat ashamed to say I am at a spot currently where getting fired wouldn’t be a bad option. I took a big cut in pay to come back home to work at a local business that our family has a small interest in. I was told some things that with the addition of some new people in certain roles, didn’t work out as planned. There were some troubles before I started working here, but there have been several changes in management since that time and the noose is getting tighter on what we can do for our customers. Being somewhat of a family business, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. I’ll look for something before too long, but I dread the day I have to tell them. But otherwise, it’s great to be back home!
Terry – I know what you mean about the Midwestern “everything is your fault” indoctrination. I have to say, blaming yourself for everything is probably much more adaptive behavior than blaming someone ELSE for everything, but it can make you depressed and prone to being treated like a doormat. It’s a balancing act.
jmarz – As far as mentors go, I’ve never had anything remotely like one. But then, people think their mentor is going to be like Obi-Wan Kenobi and teach them mad jedi skills. Really, the people you work with, bosses and peers alike, are just normal people like you. Learn from ALL of them, their strengths and weaknesses both. I do have to say that in some situations (for instance, a few years ago when I was bullied into quitting a job), it would have been nice to have someone who could tell me when I was doing the right thing vs. simply getting screwed. My only way of learning has been to stumble around in the dark until I find a light switch, so yes I’ve made a lot of mistakes. And I do a good job of learning from those mistakes, but not everyone is like LLPOH – some people will see that you’ve failed here or there, or made mistakes, so they simply conclude that YOU are a failure.
A trust fund sure would come in handy, if I had one of those. Sometimes it just sucks what we have to go through in order to keep the lights on and food in the fridge.
Pirate
Well said. I do just exactly what you have recommended in regard to learning from everyone. I try to learn anything I can from every experience I have. You made some very good points. Thanks for the post.
I am glad that TBP is populated by people that use adversity as fuel rather than as an excuse. Many thanks everyone. Great stories.
@AKanon
My regular IP address is banned, making your Gauntlet a moot point.
RE
llpoh
Jumping in very late here. Nothing much to add to the most excellent comments. Just wanted to say it has been TOO LONG since you posted a short story. Nicely done!
BTW, I’ve been fired from more jobs than I can possibly remember. Does that make me an EXCELLENT employee or, does it mean I can’t learn jack-shit from past mistakes?
That’s a rhetorical question. PLEASE, don’t answer it.
llpoh, I’ll bet you’re ELATED that RE made a brief appearance! (And he didn’t even call you a pigman!!)
Stucky – thanks. The only time I asked for RE to leave was near the end of his tenure when he was mfing the site all the time. I recall the Admin saying that he has n’t banned anyone except DP and that recent fruitloop Anthony, which refutes RE’s statement that he was banned.
Some people are ill-suited to work for others. I have known lots. To work for someone you invariably have to, at times, do work of questionable value and take instruction from people of questionable judgement. For some, that is a bridge too far. Not suggesting you are one of those, but in my experience it is one of the most likely scenarios when I talk to people that have left a lot of jobs. I very often hire them, for 2 reasons: first, I leave people the fuck alone who work for me, so long as the do the job I hire them for. I hardly ever tell them to do anything, but rather give them the result we need and leave them to it. As a result, a lot of previous job hoppers turn into long-term employees for me. Second, these folks, although potentially a pain in my ass, are very often exceptional workers, and even should they leave in 6 months or whatever, I get very good work out of them until such time as they become too painful. If they cannot work for me, they cannot work for anyone (issues of pay excepted), because we really do leave people alone and do not permit anyone who works for us to be screwed with.
PJ – stumbling around in the dark is a slow and painful process, but works if there are no other alternatives. Women are good at personal relationship building, so keep an eye out, and maybe you can groom some good relationships. It is never too late.
llpoh, I think you just described the kind of employee I am. I’ve left a handful of jobs at the two-year mark because my learning curve had maxed out and I just wasn’t being given enough responsibility. I don’t like it when someone else (usually my boss) is responsible for the result and I am just being given the tasks my boss doesn’t want to do. This lends itself too readily to micromanagement, and I find myself in a situation where I can’t manage my own workload or my own time. Sometimes, it’s not that I have a bad boss, but rather my boss cannot delegate the result or the ownership of the full range of responsibility to me because it doesn’t fly with the people above my boss. Generally this is the case in large companies, which is why I probably will never take another full-time position with a large company. I am relatively content to do contract work for now. Sometimes it’s just another grunt job, but then I tell myself it’s only temporary and certainly no worse than those full-time jobs I had. Other times I get really challenged and engaged in what I am doing. Do you have any need for a controller or senior-level financial analyst? I’m glad to hear there are some people out there who see through the “job-hopping” and value the kind of employee I am.
llpoh-
“For some, that is a bridge too far”
Yes, and it has it’s price.
And it’s rewards
Hopefully you don’t have a hankering for a Mercedes
PJ – sorry, but the job you are looking for is largely my job! Based on what you say, you are probably well-fitted for contract work. Financial/accounting types seem to be much in demand for this type work. A friend of mine lost a job a while back as a controller, and was in a deep funk. I called him and told him stop sweating about it, come work for me as a factory hand while you look for another job in your field, and it will help cover the bills and help keep your mind off things while you look. He didn’t come work for me, but he immediately re-enregized and shortly found a steady string of good paying contract jobs. He called me and told me that knowing that he had a bit of support and a fall-back position made all the difference to his state of mind, and a positive state of mind lead him down a path that has since proven to suit him well.
So I think that contract work, or your own business, will suit you well, especially if you are considering a real tilt at climbing the corporate ladder (which sucks, in my opinion).
But even in my company, although I do leave people alone, a lot of the work can be boring. The other day, I calculated that I have balanced bank statements and closed the monthly books almost 250 times. It grew old after 10 times. But it is critical to the business that I do it myself. I look at every transaction that is made in my business – every one. If i didn’t do that, we would surely spiral downwards.
CI – I drive an Audi. Mercedes are too much of a status symbol for me. I will be reverting back to my Jeep shortly. The Audi is nice, but I cannot justify the price differential (afford has nothing to do with it) as well as the non-American made status of the Audi is unsettling.
Wasn’t talking about your ride.
Some People whom can never settle into a job for a long stretch, repeatedly, suffer from lack of the desire for a Mercedes (or Audi for that matter).
The two things I always did as a manager was never tell a lie or prevaricate to the troops in _any_ way and I always promoted from within the organization.
My girls and guys appreciated the fact that I was a straight shooter and by promoting from within, and they knew it, I got a generally higher performance level out of all but the few scrubs I kept around for scut work.
Luckily, I was always managing projects or contracts populated with sharp engineers or technicians who worked best under llpoh’s method of providing them a goal, a time line and a money figure and then get out of the way and let them do the job (with me making sure it was done right along the way – which they expected).
One thing I did do – since I averaged 18 months to 2 years on a job for most of my career, the first thing I did when coming on a new contract was to identify the hungriest, smartest, most ambitious engineer I had. Then I’d take him out and get him a bit inebriated and ask him , “John, how would you like my job?”
Well, no respecting ambitious engineer would ever say “No” to that, so they’d always say yes. Then I’d teach them everything they needed to know to do my job and work their ass to the bone.
Sure enough, 18 months later, I’d get a call from someone saying , “Jeez, MA, we have this terrible problem on this new contract in paradise!” I’d say, “So?” and they’d always say, “But who will be we get to take your place in hell?”. I’d just say, “John” and that would be that. He’d get my job and I’d get to go to paradise with a fat raise and have all new challenges and problems to work out.
Worked like a charm for 40 years.. And except for one psycho who slipped in the door before I got on a contract, I had nothing but happy campers the whole time..
MA
Muck – I know you didn’t give advice as such, but people should see your last post as such.
ahve a rule about talking to my employees – if they are brave enough to ask a question, then I am brave enough to answer it. Occassionally, I do ask people if they are sure they want me to answer their question (a question like “Whyd idn’t I get the promotion”, for instance, when the answer might honestly be “Because you are lazy and stupid”). I always answer the questions honestly and directly – no beating about the bush. I sleep better, and people can make decisions about their lives and futures knowing they have received the best and most honest answer to their questons that I can provide.
Llpoh – The United States has become a culture that lavishly REWARDS failure and punishes success. Cannot manage risk properly, get bailed out with infinate free money, too lazy to make something of your life and get back up when adversity hits, sponge of Uncle Sugar with free shit.
This is the third world mentality in a nutshell and the root cause of America’s downward spiral into a third world country and possibly failed state.
The tragedy is once a country succums it STAYS that way. Look at the middle east, africa and most of south america.
Success is a decision and action, so is failure…
OB – you always cheer me up. But right you are.
Colma
You said, “Who the fuck said that “Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life” shit, anyway?…
Sounds great, doesn’t it….”
I loved what I did all my life and get pounded for it all the time on this site. All because of WHAT I did. Ok, I’ll go with that and …………………. smile.
One of the favorite sayings among Air Force pilots was, “Can you believe they’re paying us for doing this?”
SSS – you got paid to fly! Woohoo – the bigtime! And you served your country, too. Well done in my book.
llpoh
You said, “I demanded total autonomy – and got it. I did not care whose toes I stepped on, or what political problems I caused. I focused on the job and only the job. I became much sought after.”
Good advice. I did the same thing. It’s tricky, and you’d better to be able to pony up. If not, TPTB will waste you.
What you said is worth repeating. ” I focused on the job and only the job.” Yep.
Being a jet pilot and secret agent is what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Now I just pilot a pickup and secretly post on blogs.
Se la vi.
Thanks SSS. It is an easy concept. Too bad politicians don’t buy in.
Well, llpoh, from what you’ve written here it actually sounds like you’d hire me! If you can believe that!! 🙂
E – of course I do.