Daniel looked at him.
“Thank you.”
Richard nodded.
“But I still believe most of the strategic changes are necessary.”
“So do I.”
Richard’s face showed genuine surprise.
“You do?”
“Did you think I came back to reinstall fax machines?”
Despite himself, Richard smiled.
“No.”
“Good.”
Daniel sat.
“The problem isn’t change.”
“What is it?”
“Forgetting why you’re changing.”
Other directors arrived.
Executives followed.
At nine precisely, the meeting began.
Daniel distributed a proposal.
Not a resignation.
Not a demand that Richard step down.
Not a founder’s manifesto.
A governance and employee-retention plan.
The first component was an employee ownership trust.
Long-serving employees would become eligible for equity participation through company shares allocated over time under a formal plan.
Not everyone would receive the same amount.
Tenure alone would not determine value.
But sustained contribution would create actual ownership rather than commemorative plaques and retirement watches.
Richard read silently.
Daniel watched him reach the next section.
A workforce continuity review.
Large restructuring decisions affecting experienced technical teams would require documented assessment of knowledge loss, retraining costs, safety impact, and customer continuity before final approval.
Not a ban on layoffs.
A requirement that leadership measure what layoffs destroyed as carefully as it measured what they saved.
The third section restored funding for local technical schools and apprenticeships.
The fourth created a formal mentoring structure pairing experienced workers with younger employees, with paid time allocated for training rather than expecting knowledge transfer to happen unofficially after hours.
Richard looked up.
“You want to give away equity.”