there's one thing that you've forgotten to factor in.

When one of my reports informed me that they were leaving to join another company, we talked and I asked why. He told me that the opportunity to work in a new technology and the increase in pay were the reason. He also said that even were we to increase and match his pay, he would still leave as he needed to develop a deeper wider skill set in his career.

I respected the decision - I actually lauded it and commended him for being proactive and owning his career.

My bosses didn't see it that way.

They thought I had betrayed the company by letting the employee go. And my own reviews suffered.

We hired another person, someone I worked with at another company who I knew was an excellent developer. He came in and hit the ground running, taking on tasks my former employee would have been taking time to learn to do.

But the resentment and the impact on my review persisted. I left after the combination of this issue plus needing to attend to my son's diabetes diagnosis caused them to turn 100% against me (for no good reason).

I would have hired Jacob back in a heartbeat - he was an energetic and motivated developer who has a bright future. No hard feelings.

But I would *never* go back to working for Darrell or Steve ever again - not for any sum of money in the world.