After what felt like an eternity, the meeting finally wrapped up. With a sigh of relief, I left the stuffy conference room, glad to escape its oppressive atmosphere. The meeting had been nothing more than a drawn-out pitch from another firm eager to collaborate with us. In reality, collaboration was just their polite way of saying they wanted us to teach them how to do their jobs properly. Afterward, they’d inevitably split off, only to become direct competition. Needless to say, that wasn’t going to happen—not on my watch.
With brisk steps, I moved down the hallway, passing several offices occupied by my highly capable employees. These were the people I trusted implicitly with the sensitive knowledge and tasks that flowed through our company. Most of the offices featured glass walls, whi
