The people who left weren't just headcount. They were the ones who remembered why certain calls had been made. Who knew which clients were quietly fragile. Who could read the room in ways that don't appear in any system.

You didn't know that at the time. Or you did, but underestimated how many good people would gladly take the package and leave.

Now you're three months in. The new structure looks cleaner. But the informal operating system — the one that actually ran things — went with them.

Something is missing and no one can name it precisely. Meetings take longer. Small things fall through. The organisation is technically functional but something is off.

That's where this work starts.