The stakeholders keep their cards to their chests, keep their ducks in a row. They didn’t get where they are today by giving breaks and favours. They didn’t get where they are today by giving an inch. The room’s humid as a swamp and the snakes are hungry. The crocs are hungry. The mozzies are hungry. Of course, the hoi polloi are hungry, too, but this isn’t a priority concern right now, or ever. The stakeholders nod at pie charts and congratulate their intimate rivals, pressing sweaty flesh and testing grips for any signs of weakness. It’s been a good year for ducking issues and profits are up. It’s been a good year for dodging responsibilities, and the five-year plan’s as bright as cash. The stakeholders keep their heads when all around them are losing the roofs from over theirs, and they keep the wolves otherwise occupied. They keep out of sunlight and they keep away from mirrors; and, lest one of them should reveal they have a heart, these hands are strong, these stakes are sharp.
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Oz Hardwick
Picture Nick Victor
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