Are you an angel or a devil?

—Thank you so much, you're an angel —the woman said to me, relieved.

We were returning from the office with my daughter when we saw a woman standing next to her overturned bicycle, her hands black with grease.

The chain had come off, and she was struggling to put it back on. It was impossible not to stop and help.

—Thank you so much, you're a devil —the client said to me, smiling

I had just presented them with the quarterly analysis, the first since they invited me to join the organization as an Interim Manager to clarify their finances. In a way, their chain had also come off... the chain of profitability.

For different reasons, both people expressed sincere gratitude.

Because behind a misplaced chain or numbers that reveal uncomfortable truths, there is often a late arrival at work or a strategic plan that needs to be revised.

And of course, we all prefer that these things don't happen. But if they do, it's better to detect them in time... and not look the other way.