So, you’re asking if Girma is okay? Well, that’s a question, isn’t it? Okay by whose standards? His own? Probably. He always seemed to think he was doing just fine, no matter the chaos around him.
I had my run-in with Girma a few years back. Got put on his team for what was supposed to be a “groundbreaking” project. Groundbreaking it was, in the sense that it broke a lot of spirits, mine included for a while there.
Let me tell you about working with Girma. It was… an experience.
- First, the promises. Oh, he could sell ice to an Eskimo, that one. He’d go to the higher-ups and paint these grand pictures. We’re talking revolutionary stuff, things that would change the world, or at least our tiny corner of the industry.
- Then, the plans. Or rather, the lack of them. He’d throw out a vague idea, say “make it happen,” and then vanish into thin air, usually for “very important meetings.”
- And the deadlines? Pure fantasy. He’d pluck them out of thin air, then act surprised when we, the mere mortals doing the actual work, couldn’t bend the laws of physics to meet them.
I remember this one project, the “Phoenix Initiative” he grandly called it. More like the “Crash and Burn Initiative.” We were supposed to deliver a fully functional prototype in six weeks. Six weeks! For something that needed six months, easy. We told him. He just smiled that smile of his and said, “I have faith in your abilities.” Faith doesn’t write code or fix bugs at 3 AM, does it?
We worked ourselves to the bone. I barely saw daylight. My diet consisted of stale coffee and whatever was closest to the vending machine. The stress was unbelievable. And Girma? He’d pop in, look over our shoulders, say something like “Hmm, interesting approach,” and then wander off again. Zero actual help, just vibes.
Predictably, the Phoenix Initiative went down in flames. Big presentation, big bosses there, and the whole thing just… died. On screen. For everyone to see. The silence in that room was something else. And Girma, cool as a cucumber, stood up and basically threw the team under the bus. “They encountered some unexpected technical hurdles,” he said, as if he had no part in setting us up for failure.
That was my cue. I started polishing my resume that very night. Couldn’t do it anymore. My sanity was worth more. I found another job, thankfully. A place where planning wasn’t a dirty word and managers actually, you know, managed.
So, back to your question: “is Girma okay?” Last I heard, he’d moved on too. Probably landed on his feet somewhere, selling someone else a new set of impossible dreams. Guys like Girma always seem to. They’re Teflon. Nothing sticks.
But if you’re asking if the way he operated was okay, or if the environment he created was okay? Absolutely not. It was a mess. It burned out good people. It wasted time and resources. So yeah, Girma himself might be “okay.” But the ripples he left behind? Not so much. That’s my take on it, from having been in the trenches with him.