Two years ago, two VPs isolated me from long term projects I had been involved in. They suggested an "Oz" arrangement where I'm the brains behind the curtain and they take the bows. I declined and transferred as I was going to retire in 2025. They hired two replacements to backfill my skills. Those replacements worked for 6 months on a pilot project that never got anywhere. My new boss asked me if I could help. I had one 30 minute meeting and completed the pilot 3.5 hours later. On a professional basis I thought the two VPs would send a "we appreciate you helping" email. They didn't. But they did "assign" me to extend the pilot. I said no. They are mulling over what to do now.

I'm fortunate in that I've saved more than enough for retirement and I'm really really good at what I do.

If I have a regret in this instance, it's that I won't be there when the VPs fail and are fired.