know the system better than anyone.”
“I do. But I don’t want to return to a job where my professional judgment is ignored until a crisis makes it valuable again.”
He looked down at his desk.
“What would it take?”
“A company culture that treats operational expertise as something worth listening to. A proper review process. Clear authority. And a commitment to not dismissing documented risks simply because the person raising them is inconvenient.”
He didn’t answer immediately.
“I can’t promise you all of that,” he finally said.
“Then I
