Time, she
says, is money. If that be the truth, then my time at IDI should be worth a lot
of money in the bank. I was thinking
about this as I wrote my farewell email to all staff after receiving the letter
from HR telling me what my gratuity/separation payment was going to be. It
seemed my 8 years at IDI was not worth a lot of money anyway.
Later
that day I went home and, as happens every day once I put my key in the
door, those Pavlov conditioned daughters
of mine came hurtling towards me screaming, ‘daddy daddy….!’ I did not have any
children 8 years ago when I joined IDI. But here we are and I feel so much
richer for having my kids.
Since
I made the announcement, I have discovered that I was actually a star. Everyone
has been telling me I am a star and I shall be missed. Already I am feeling 10
feet taller. Even this issue with the gratuity has not spoiled my mood for
long. It has all left me feeling like Alex Ferguson. May be I should be
knighted...
8
years ago if you wanted to watch a video online it took almost 10minutes to load
the damn thing. Now it takes just over a minute on my smart phone (its Chinese,
do not snigger). 8 years ago there was no mobile money, Liverpool were still
turning corners and the same well-meaning dimwitted politicians were running
this … oh sorry about that last one.
So
I think I have grown very wealthy over the last 8 years. I have a very lovely
wife. I have 3 wonderful kids; even though the 2 big ones are actually fatter
than they are big. I actually have 2 years of senior management experience to
put on my CV. IDI gave me the
opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives too. We serve over 10,000
clients in the HIV clinic and we have published studies that show that my work
has impacted on the treatment outcomes for these people. And that is real
wealth.
