Alright, let’s talk about this “Liverpool Johnson” thing. It wasn’t really a person, not exactly, but it kinda became the nickname for a whole situation I found myself stuck in a while back.
So, I was working on this project, felt pretty standard stuff at first. We had our tasks, our deadlines. Things were moving along, you know? Not smooth sailing, never is, but manageable. We were putting in the hours, getting things done piece by piece. The team was decent, mostly knew what they were doing.
Then Things Got Weird
Suddenly, outta nowhere, management drops this bombshell. Complete change of direction. Everything we’d been building for months? Practically useless overnight. And the guy pushing this new direction, let’s just call him the source of the “Liverpool Johnson” chaos, he didn’t seem to grasp what he was asking. It was like talking to a brick wall.
Chaos. That’s the only word for it. We spent weeks, maybe months, just scrambling. Trying to figure out what the new plan even was. The goalposts kept moving. One day it was this, the next day something completely different. Nobody knew what was happening. Morale just tanked.
- Long nights became the norm.
- Weekend work felt mandatory.
- People started snapping at each other.
- Good folks started looking for the exit.
I remember thinking, this is nuts. We’re burning ourselves out chasing ghosts. We weren’t building anything solid anymore, just patching holes and trying to please whoever shouted loudest that day. This whole “Liverpool Johnson” phase was just draining.
Getting Out
I stuck it out longer than I should have, honestly. Kept hoping things would stabilise, get back on track. But it never did. It just got worse. Saw too many good colleagues leave, looking absolutely defeated. Eventually, I had enough too. Polished up my resume, started putting feelers out.
Felt like a weight lifted when I finally handed in my notice. Found a new gig pretty quick, thankfully. Much saner place. Looking back, that whole “Liverpool Johnson” period was a masterclass in how not to run things. Learned a lot, mostly about what I didn’t want in a job. Sometimes you gotta go through the mud to appreciate solid ground, I guess.
