As I walked through my own company disguised as a janitor, my top executive sneered, “People like you don’t belong here.” Her tone was the first warning something inside my empire had gone wrong. I stayed silent, memorizing every face that laughed. Thirty minutes later, I called an emergency board meeting and revealed who I really was… and by noon, my next move left the entire building in chaos.

That evening, when I left the building, I passed the nighttime cleaning crew arriving for their shift.

A young man with a mop bucket stiffened when he saw me.

I offered my hand.

“Good evening. I’m Arthur. Thank you for the work you do. It matters.”

He blinked, surprised.

“I’m David, sir.”

“Glad to meet you, David.”

As I stepped outside into the crisp Chicago night, the Sterling Dynamics sign glowed above me.

I had lost a VP that day.
But I had gained back something far more important.

The soul of my company.