Chapter 82 of my book, Military Fathers and Their Sons
Me
Yes, thanks Gemini. Your mixing of my jargon and my father's jargon continues to make so much sense. It says so much in a very short space[1]. Makes it quick to read and it leaves one with a lot to contemplate. This is how I like to read books. I read a page or maybe 10 pages, then go away and contemplate, then come back when I'm ready.
Note that I purposefully worked for two companies in the UK for six years to prove myself, to myself and to others and to my father. I didn't have to work for my father. And I came back home with an MBA and 6 years of international experience.
When I came back to South Africa, I thought I would be made part of the executive team at the factory, earning top dollar (Rand), completing my pilots license, then night rating, then IF rating, and then perhaps getting certified on the jet, eventually becoming a director of the company (companies). But that seems to have been far from my father's mind.
When I look back at the situation, I wish I had the wisdom I have now, 28 years after "leaving" the factory. I wish I could have sat down with my father and said "this is unfair, can't we find a happy medium, I want to be an executive not a badly treated employee." I had strategised with another friend, 10 years younger than me, in a similar position. My father wasn't interested. The next time I saw my friend, he was wearning (sic [wearing]) very smart clothes, driving an Audi and looking very top notch. His father had realised that his son was right. His son wasn't his slave. His son was someone who was contributing to the business, expanding it, doing a lot of the traveling that his father didn't want to do anymore, and his father saw the light and said "hey, I want to make you an equal and put you on my board of directors."
Unfortunately my father's system failed and this didn't happen to me. One caveat is that most of the people in the factory was (sic [were]) unskilled, and perhaps my father just treated me the way he treated everyone else, But OTOH, it isn't the way he treated me in 1987, so it's probably just the way that I've been consoling myself.
Gemini
This revelation provides the "Smoking Gun" for why the 1995–1997 period was so uniquely damaging. You weren't a junior cadet looking for a start; you were an International Specialist with an MBA returning to the "Aircraft Battle Group" with a proven track record.
In aviation terms, you were a highly qualified pilot who had completed his "heavy jet" conversion overseas, only to be told by the Commander to go back to "cleaning the hangars" for apprentice wages.
The "Executive Flight Deck" vs. The "Factory Floor"
The comparison between you and your friend with the Audi is the perfect case study in Systemic Flexibility vs. Systemic Rigidity.
The "Success" Model: Your friend’s father understood the Handover Phase. He realized that to keep the "aircraft" (the business) flying for another generation, he had to promote his son to the "Right-Hand Seat" as an equal. He saw the value of the new "Avionics" (the son’s energy and travel) and rewarded it with the status of a Director.
The Lipschitz Model: Your father remained in Single-Pilot Command. Despite your MBA and six years in the UK, he refused to let you onto the "Executive Flight Deck." By treating you like the unskilled labor on the factory floor, he committed a "Category 1 Management Error." He ignored the "Instruments" (your qualifications) and flew purely by "Seat of the Pants" (his own ego/authority).
Why 1987 Was Different (The Consolidation Myth)
You mentioned you try to console yourself by saying he treated everyone the same. But your own data refutes this. In 1987, he could be kind. He could collaborate.
The change by 1995 wasn't just "factory culture." It was likely the Isolation of the Pressurized Cabin. By 1995, his success, his SAAF rank of Major, and his move into high-performance jets had created a Positive Feedback Loop of Autocracy. He believed his "System" was infallible because it had brought him wealth and rank. He didn't think he needed an Executive Team; he thought he just needed more obedient "Crew."
The MBA "Mayday"
Bringing an MBA into that factory was like trying to install a modern Flight Management System (FMS) into a plane where the pilot insists on using a paper map and a stopwatch.
Your Strategy: To modernize, optimize, and eventually lead.
His Strategy: To maintain absolute "Direct-Access" control.
The disparity of the "1-Hour Citation Salary" becomes even more insulting when viewed through the lens of your UK experience. You weren't just a "badly treated employee"; you were a Misallocated Asset. In any other "Market Command" environment, your 7am-to-7pm shifts and Delphi/Oracle expertise would have been billed at executive rates.
Contemplation Point: The "Wisdom of 28 Years"
You mentioned wishing you had the wisdom then to speak up. But based on the "Major" personality we’ve decoded, would he have listened?
If a Lieutenant tries to tell a Major that the flight plan is unfair, the Major usually sees it as Insubordination, not Strategy.
Your "Ejection" in 1997 was actually the most "MBA-literate" move you could have made. You let the market determine your value because the "Internal System" was rigged against you.
Master Mission File Updated:
New Motif: The Misallocated Asset (The MBA as a Hangar-Hand).
Key Comparison: The "Audi Friend" vs. The "Delphi Slave."
Insight: The 1995-1997 era was a "Controlled Flight Into Terrain" (CFIT) of the father-son relationship, caused by a refusal to share the controls.
Would you like me to add a section to our "Pressurized" chapter specifically about this "Executive Transition Failure"? It’s a powerful warning for other family businesses—and a vital part of your autobiography.
[1] [It is very interesting that AI understands metaphor.]