They were hired to do things differently, our new top execs.
They were hired by people outside our organization and weren’t from our city, outside the typical ad scene.
They were going to take us to the next level, and we were meant to kiss their feet for shining their light upon us.
They came in assuming we were useless.
Our sin?
Working there.
We pointed to our many years of success - they said it was down to luck.
We pointed to our clients’ business results. They said it was built on lackluster creative.
We pointed to our awards. They told us to stop looking backwards and when we told them some had been awarded just that month, they shook their heads.
So we dug in, we stayed all night. We did the shots, we took the hits. We did it “their way” and we could see it was a disaster.
Many left ... the survivors were deteriorating.
Maybe I really am bad at my job.
Maybe all my years have been just good luck?
Maybe I don’t deserve a job at all.
In fact I can see now that I don’t have any kind of future. Not here. Not anywhere.
Meanwhile they continued to point fingers and covered their ears.
They weaved tales for the Board.
They lost.
They stopped communicating with anyone but themselves.
They lost again and again.
They brought down the entire ship, except for a tiny team of survivors.
As they were pulled out to sea, they could be heard shouting, “it all happened in spite of me!”
We are left to pick up the pieces. To rediscover the talent we used to feel sure of. To rebuild and try to silence their voices in our heads.