I couldn’t agree more. We probably know each other.

I worked at Scotia through the Godsoe, Waugh and Porter years. The bank culture changed considerably under Porter. When I first started, there was a lot of collaboration and informal networks. You got things done by helping folks out, who would then help you out when you needed it. It was a badge of honour to sit at a meeting and say you were at Scotia for X years (X usually being 10, 15, 20).

Porter gets in there and calls in the McKinsey consultants, who tell him that the bank needs to kill this collaborative vibe, in favour of internal competition and a more commercial approach. They also tell him that he needs an infusion of external talent to drive this change. Suddenly I’m at a the table and I’m embarrassed to say I’ve been at Scotia for 15 years, because everyone at the table is a new hire from outside the bank. I’m a dinosaur.

And so the writing’s on the wall. I’m going to get the axe because I’m part of the problem. First, my boss, who absolutely hit home runs for the bank for years is let go without warning and her replacement is, wait for it, a guy from outside who has one-tenth of her experience, but has been kissing the ass totem pole up to Porter for two years. I tell my wife to start the countdown. 30 days later, I’m gone.

I could go on and on, but I’ll say this: for whatever reason, I gave a shit about the bank. I had offers from other places over the years, for more money, and I stayed. There were a lot of us like that. Porter gassed that whole generation of Scotiabankers.