I’m closing in on completing the initial version of, “Idyllic Islands”, the latest in the Chris Green series. This brought to mind one of the intriguing things I learned during my first post-retirement career.

As I think I’ve posted before, when I retired in July 1995, Hubby agreed I should take some time off to write the novel as he checked into his Pentagon assignment. In the months that followed I learned the disappointing truth of an unpublished author with no contacts in the industry. However, like so very many retired military, there was no shortage of government contract work. Since we were financially in a position to do so I didn’t want to work for one of the Fortune 500s and therefore went with one of the mid-range small firms whose corporate culture aligned with my own. Originally established with husband and wife and either three or five other close friends, I was like the 150th employee when I was hired. (Their ultimate selling to a Fortune 500 is another subject). So, my direct boss and I used to have lunch together almost every day. As one of the first females (okay as the first female) who was a team leader, they had their eye to groom me to move up in the hierarchy. As I explained to my boss (and the others who asked me the same question), I wasn’t suited for what they had in mind for four reasons (not important here). On the other hand, I was happy to be a sounding board for my boss and learn how the company operated.

One day he mentioned the owners were planning to buy another company. Ah, not something I was familiar with. As it turns out, it’s a fascinating process and there are lots of variables depending on the companies involved. In short, if a company, like the one I was in, decides to move into a new area of expertise, it’s sometimes more cost-effective to buy an existing company with that expertise than to develop it in-house. The processes of acquisition and transition are also interesting, but topics for another post.