Word Press Daily Prompt: Take It From Me

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve given someone that you failed to take yourself?

I really had to think about this, as I do not usually meddle in things that are not my business, but those magic words at the end of the challenge "you failed to take yourself" reminds me of my working days. Times change and so do organisations. In my particular case I had a good job, customer contact with the world and speaking many foreign languages. I made my own decisions and no-one meddled in my work. I was trusted. I was "just" an employee in the office, but was proud of what I had achieved.

One fine day, things changed. A new organisation was called for, my chief had too much on his desk and had to reorganise. After twenty-five years of service for the company, with another five years to go before retirement, I found I now had a new person in charge of my work. Just a few years more than half my age. She took over the interesting parts of my work and I was left as something like an assembly line worker. She was even given the task of carrying out the annual qualification talk with us. Not very nice, when her only experience was a special course and a text book to put her on the right way.

Over the years I did reassure some of my younger colleagues, when the job was not what they expected and suggested they should look elsewhere. The career opportunities were good at the time.

And now that would have been the best piece of advice that I failed to take.