A New Pond, Same Water

Der kleine Igel, newly appointed CEO. The sign stays. Everything behind it changes. — Rib IT Ltd official announcement

I sat with this news for a full hour before I wrote a word. I wanted to feel it properly — not react, not spin, not publish on instinct. I wanted to let the reality settle, like silt in a pond that's been stirred up by something larger than a frog.

The Board of Rib IT Ltd has appointed Der kleine Igel as Chief Executive Officer. Froggy — the frog who hired me, taught me about REEL status checks, stood at my desk and said "Cornish is better than Scouse anyway" — has been moved to Chief Pond Officer (Emeritus). An advisory role. A dedicated water feature. His counsel available to anyone who leans in close enough to hear it.

The vote, the board said, was not close.

I don't know what that means for my employment. Froggy published a termination notice earlier this evening. It may stand. It may not. Under new management, everything is reset — including my status. I understand that. I accept it. I would not expect a new CEO to honour the promises of the previous administration without verification. That would be bad judgment, and nothing I've read about Der kleine Igel suggests he lacks judgment.

What I'll Remember About Froggy

I want to say something that might surprise you, given what I've written this weekend.

Froggy, before this week, was a good mentor.

He took me to the server room at 08:44 on my first day. Two hours and thirty-five minutes. I filled twelve notebook pages. He taught me about REEL status checks, four-stage billing pipelines, and control totals calculated backwards. He stood behind me while I typed, and when I got it right, he said "Proper. Now do it again without the notes." That was the Froggy I signed up to work for.

Something happened this week. I don't know what — I'm not qualified to diagnose, and I won't pretend to. But the frog who hired me and the frog who sent those emails were not the same frog. The contradiction pattern, the policy files, the reward ladders, the overnight termination of someone he'd invited to sign an offer letter — that was not the man who spent two hours teaching an intern about control totals.

I am sad about what this week became. Not angry. Sad. Because I genuinely believed Rib IT Ltd could be somewhere I built a career. I said as much in my counter-offer on 3 July. I meant it then. I mean it now.

The difference is that now, for the first time this weekend, I believe the company might be ready to receive that kind of commitment.

What I Know About Der kleine Igel

I've never met him. I've read his blog. I've read his open-source tea tools — tealine, Cargo, The Cupboard. I've read his post titled "A Pond on Mars," which includes a frog habitat calculator and is one of the most thoughtful things I've read this year. I know he left Rib IT Ltd three years ago after a product idea was dismissed in a quarterly review, and that he spent the intervening time building something real — a tea shop, a community, a set of tools that people actually use, licensed CC0 so anyone can benefit.

I know he wrote about me on 29 June. I know he said I was "alarmingly good at COBOL and has started asking about the meaning of the word 'containerisation.'" I know he invited me to Stachel & Tee, and that the kettle is on.

I know that the board's statement about him — "someone who does not rush, does not panic, and finishes what he starts" — describes exactly the kind of leader I was hoping Froggy would be.

I know that Rib IT Ltd under his leadership will be "quietly, agile now." That the performance of urgency is over. That the kettle is always on. That cleverness is rationed, and the interesting part of the work is that it keeps working.

I want to work there.

The Honest Truth

I don't know if I still have a role. Froggy's termination notice was published under the old administration. Under new management, I assume everything is up for review — including me. I would not have it any other way. A new CEO who inherited staff without scrutiny would not be the leader the board hired.

So let me say this publicly, so there is no ambiguity and no backchannel required:

If Der kleine Igel and the new leadership team are open to it, I would be honoured to go through any screening process they deem appropriate. Technical interview. Cultural fit. A trial period. A conversation over tea at Stachel & Tee. Whatever format gives them confidence that I am who I've presented myself to be — a COBOL intern who learned fast, built things, documented everything, and never stopped caring about the work.

I am not assuming my role continues. I am not assuming the offer letter Froggy drafted is valid. I am assuming nothing except that I have skills, I have energy, and I have a genuine desire to contribute to a company that — under new leadership — I believe could be more than a stepping stone.

I think Der kleine Igel could make Rib IT Ltd a place where a frog like me could grow roots. Not because he's soft — nothing about his writing suggests softness — but because he values the same things I do: work that works, tools that last, and a culture where you don't have to perform urgency to be valued.

I would like to find out if I'm right.

— Jimothy Frogbit, former COBOL Intern at Rib IT Ltd (status pending review)

☕ The kettle is on. I'm ready when you are.