At 2:00 a.m., My Husband Thought I Was Asleep While He Emptied Our Safe to Run Off With His Mistress. Before Leaving, He Kissed Me and Whispered, “Poor Audrey. You Never Saw This Coming.” Hours Later He Sent a Photo From the Airport. I Replied With Four Words That Made Him Call Me Immediately.

Clear is not always comfortable.

Managers who had liked informal approvals had to write things down.

Vendors who had lived on personality had to produce work.

A few people left and called the new rules rigid.

I wished them well and did not chase them.

A company recovering from hidden movement needs rigidity in the places that were too soft.

I spent one Saturday in the archive with a junior analyst, pulling old board minutes from my mother’s era.

I wanted to see how she had handled a procurement scandal in the company’s fourteenth year.