I expected a conventional interview, although nothing about the previous week had been conventional.
Instead, I spent hours speaking with senior employees and board members.
They questioned me about struggling businesses, management, employee retention, and difficult investment decisions.
I answered using what I’d learned from years of managing campaigns, relationships, and teams.
One discussion focused on businesses that could improve short-term profits by dismissing experienced employees.
The questions became increasingly challenging.
“What would you do?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether keeping those employees protects long-term value.”
“What if investors demand cuts?”
“Then explain the cost of losing institutional knowledge.”
“What if they don’t care?”
“Then they’re not investing. They’re extracting.”
The board member studied me.
Then he smiled.
Another interviewer asked about my greatest weakness.
“What is your biggest weakness?”
“I occasionally stop for strangers.”
For two seconds, nobody laughed.
Then the room erupted.
Late that afternoon, Eleanor joined me.
