Sometimes, the loudest critics are the first ones proven wrong.

So, what would you do if the person you replaced insisted you were foolish for taking a job at a “sinking” company, then bragged nonstop about how much better his new employer was? Would you believe him and immediately find a new job? Or would you figure out why the company was having problems?

In the following story, one software engineer deals with this and brings a struggling team back from the brink of destruction. Here’s his story.

Took over a role after being told I was an idiot for it… turns out the market disagreed

I am a software engineer and joined a new company, Company A, exactly 1 year ago as a team lead.

I literally replaced a guy who left for Company B because “it was crap and about to burn up in flames.”

On his way out, he was very vocal about how I was an idiot for joining Company A, and how he was off to a “powerhouse,” so I’d regret it.

His first few weeks have been spent fixing problems.

For the few weeks we overlapped, he really liked giving me a daily reminder of how much the stock of Company A had fallen over the last few years, and how much his new company’s stock had risen in the same time.

Fast forward to today, and it turns out I’ve mostly been: Calming down and bringing so many colleagues who were burnt out back to sanity, and fixing so many issues that he left behind. So many half-brained “solutions.”

I’ve also been putting out fires for clients who were about to leave, making them feel taken care of, and giving the C-suite reality checks (they were lied to for so long) and a realistic plan forward for the tech.

Everything is doing better at Company A.

Those same clients are now happy, stable, and renewing. Internal sentiment is way better. Fewer emergencies. Actual planning instead of panic.

Meanwhile, purely for fun, I checked the stock today: Company A: 26% UP since I joined, and Company B: 26% DOWN since he joined.

I haven’t said a word to him (yet). Still trying to figure out how to do the petty thing “with class” 🙂

Sweet, sweet petty revenge served by the market.

Wow! It’s clear who the problem was.

Let’s check out how the folks over at Reddit feel about problem-causing coworkers.

Here’s what this reader would tell him.

This person doesn’t think any revenge happened.

According to this comment, the guy already knows.

This could be funny.

Sounds like he chose a good job.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.