The day they quit, I was surprised. Then worried. Clients for workshops were arriving. Two work sites needed precision service. And I’d just lost the person running both.

Then something clicked. I grabbed my keys and drove to the first location.

I started studying what needed to happen. The timeline was unforgiving – guests expecting high-level service, properties had to be perfect. As I dug deeper, I found the landmines the quitter left behind: dropped commitments, emails sent directly to clients without notifying me, deliberate gaps designed to make us fail.

They wanted chaos. They wanted punishment for our disagreement and being found out.

But here’s what happened instead: resourcefulness roared in. I was vulnerable, yes – but I also remembered something crucial. I’d done this exact work years ago. My hands knew it. My mind knew the systems.

At 74, I stepped back into territory that might intimidate people half my age.

And I didn’t just fix things. I made them better.

I talked with other people about the situation. The community showed up with elegant solutions to the problem. They were encouraging, empathetic with real possibilities that got results. I instantly trained people. Created backup systems so that one person’s leaving could never hold us hostage again. I documented everything – the hidden processes, the client communications, the timeline pressures. Built checklists. Everything was above board.

Something unexpected and deeply gratifying happened: clients and competitors noticed and responded quickly with steady support. With their help, the service improved. Sales climbed. Referrals multiplied because people were getting better experiences than before. What looked like a collapse became an expansion of goodwill and opportunity.

What the quitter intended as purposeful chaos flipped into resilience and powerful action. The crisis became an invitation to restore and build something genuinely better.

I still don’t fully understand why the quitter let things deteriorate. But that’s their story to carry, not mine. My story is about what was built from the wreckage.

Here’s what I learned: Don’t just respect your coworkers’ work – learn to do it yourself. Cross-train. Be transparent. Share responsibilities openly. Talk about the pressures, the fears, the goals. Communicate. Collaborate. Be a team not dependent on one person and their agenda.

When you truly walk in your worker’s boots, you don’t just pick up pieces and build backup systems. You build real solidarity. People you can trust. Real resilience. Respect. Individual and group integrity. And when someone tries to create chaos on their way out the door, you discover something magnificent:

You’re not done yet and you’re not alone. You’re resourceful. A seeming crisis – the kind that forces you to remember who you are and what you’re capable of – can deliver exactly the transformation you needed as well as care for others and deeper, more reliable connections.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

Please share this Daily with your tribe.
This matters too – Be Smart and Have Backup People.

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