There are a few unexpected gurus from public life whose wisdom—filtered through my own values and context—I turn to when making big decisions. Some are underrated politicians, leaders, the odd tycoon, globe-trotting entrepreneurs, showbiz wizards, obscure lyricists… you name it. One of them is Jadranka Kosor, the woman who, during her brief tenure as Croatia’s prime minister, managed to spectacularly root out corruption in her own party, stabilize regional tensions, broker a “personal trilateral” with neighboring presidents, unblock EU negotiations stalled by Slovenia for years, and practically usher Croatia into the European Union—all without fanfare and without the recognition she deserved from the Croatian and regional public.
Recently, I heard that our former colleague Milan J. was inquiring about a newly opened position at our company. Milan had always been close with Jasmina R., a current team member, and over their usual after-work glass of wine, he asked if we’d consider rehiring him. Jasmina wasn’t sure, so she told him she’d “look into it”—the polite corporate non-answer. (Names and details here are fictional, but the scenario is stitched together from real situations over the past decade.)
At the management meeting, we debated Milan’s potential return. “No one can leave and yet stay, nor stay and yet leave,” I recalled Jadranka Kosor’s Pythian remark from 2010, when she blocked a former PM’s attempted comeback with an iron fist. Should we take the same hardline stance? Opinions were split. “What’s done is done—wish him well, but his time here is over,” argued one side.
The Boomerang Employee Dilemma
Our conundrum isn’t unique. 85% of HR managers in the U.S. have fielded applications from “boomerang employees”—former staffers seeking to return—and 40% have rehired at least half of them, according to Employee Engagement studies. Most executives say these applications carry weight, yet only 1 in 10 flat-out refuses to consider a return. No such stats exist here, but you know how it goes: in Serbia’s tight-knit marketing, media, NGO, and international org circles, the same faces rotate like a carousel.
Former employees offer clear advantages: they know your business, culture, team, and clients, requiring minimal ramp-up time. They’re often cheaper to rehire, especially if they left on good terms—chasing growth, not running from failure.
At our meeting, egos flared: “A second chance? We’re not the Red Cross!” But reason soon prevailed: We’d invested heavily in Milan J. We taught him the intricacies of event management, how to help big companies craft (and monetize) a social mission with measurable impact, how to rally communities around these programs, how to draft winning tenders against international rivals. Most crucially, we trained him to think critically in line with our values—where the client isn’t always right just because they’re paying, and where profit and purpose aren’t mutually exclusive. That last part is devilishly hard to instill—and with Milan, we’d succeeded.
The Ego’s Last Stand
I thanked Jasmina for relaying the message. The conclusion? Our investment in Milan demanded openness to his return. But accepting that wasn’t easy—the ego is every leader’s fiercest opponent.
“Will I accept the decision? What does ‘accept’ even mean? Should I slit my wrists?” —Jadranka Kosor’s words in 2013, when (yet again) she had to bend to realpolitik and outmaneuver her own pride.
I called Milan J. myself to set up an informal coffee the next day. We’ll see if it’s true that no one is truly irreplaceable—or if some gaps never really close.