One Kick Girl — Chapter 208
"Lessons Learned (Nobody Admits Anything)"
The meeting invite arrived with the confidence of a lie.
Subject: Pilot Retrospective — Lessons Learned
Duration: 60 minutes
Attendees: Everyone who wanted credit, no one who wanted blame
Raon stared at the calendar notification like it might blink first.
"…They already learned the lesson," she said. "Why are we still talking."
Shion didn't look up from her notebook. "Because learning and admitting are different processes."
Raon groaned. "I hate that sentence."
"You'll hear it again," Shion replied calmly.
1. The Room of Selective Memory
The meeting room was brighter than necessary. Too many windows. Too much optimism baked into the architecture.
People joined one by one, cameras on, smiles preloaded.
Raon counted faces.
Manager.
Ops.
Two people who had never touched the pilot.
One executive who had only heard about it after it was already bleeding.
"Why are they here," Raon whispered.
Shion leaned closer. "Witnesses."
"To what?"
"To history being rewritten."
2. The Slide Deck Returns (Evolved)
The deck opened.
New title.
Pilot Retrospective: Key Takeaways
Raon squinted. "They changed the font."
Shion nodded. "Font changes signal narrative control."
Slide one:
What Went Well
Bullet points bloomed like confident weeds.
• Increased clarity
• Strong collaboration
• Valuable cross-team visibility
• Healthy discussion
Raon's jaw tightened.
"Healthy," she muttered. "Like food poisoning."
3. Applause Without Hands
The presenter smiled.
"We're really proud of how the pilot encouraged dialogue."
Raon whispered, "The dialogue was people panicking."
Shion wrote something down.
"What are you noting?"
"Translation."
4. The Absence That Screams
Slide two:
Challenges
Three bullets.
Vague. Soft. Neutered.
• Adjustment period
• Learning curve
• Initial friction
Raon raised her hand halfway, then dropped it.
"They didn't mention the three-day approval stall."
"They won't," Shion said. "Pain without attribution is just 'friction.'"
5. The Manager Speaks
The manager cleared their throat.
"I think overall this was a positive step forward."
Raon snapped.
"You're kidding."
Shion gently pressed Raon's knee under the table.
"Wait."
6. Ownership Is Still Missing
Raon watched carefully.
No one said who slowed things down.
No one said why approval only sped up once accountability was named.
No one mentioned that velocity returned only after power became visible.
The pilot had proven something sharp and uncomfortable.
The room was sanding it down.
7. Raon Tries Diplomacy (Briefly)
Raon unmuted.
"I have a question."
Several heads turned.
Shion stopped writing.
Raon continued, carefully.
"Are we capturing the timeline impacts we observed? Specifically the delay caused by undefined ownership?"
The room froze for half a second.
The presenter smiled too fast.
"That's a great point. We're thinking of that more as part of the learning curve."
Raon's eye twitched.
"That wasn't a curve," she said. "That was a wall."
8. The Word "Alignment"
Someone jumped in.
"I think the key takeaway is alignment."
Raon almost laughed.
Shion wrote the word ALIGNMENT in her notebook and circled it.
Twice.
9. Shion Enters Softly
Shion unmuted.
"May I add something?"
The tone changed instantly.
Shion didn't attack. She never did.
"In the pilot, once a single decision owner was named, turnaround time dropped from days to hours," she said. "That was a measurable shift."
Silence.
The slide stayed frozen.
Shion continued.
"I suggest we capture that explicitly. Otherwise, we risk repeating the same bottleneck under a different framework."
No accusation.
Just data.
Raon felt it — the subtle shift of weight in the room.
10. The Executive Flinches
The executive leaned forward.
"That's fair," they said slowly. "We should be honest about what actually drove improvement."
Raon blinked.
Shion didn't.
11. The Revision Happens Live
The presenter hesitated, then edited the slide.
A new bullet appeared under Challenges:
• Initial lack of clear ownership caused delays
Raon felt a strange sensation.
Vindication.
It tasted bitter.
12. Nobody Apologizes
No one said sorry.
No one said we messed up.
The system absorbed the truth without admitting fault.
Raon noticed.
"They're allergic to apologies," she whispered.
Shion replied quietly, "Organizations apologize by changing documents."
13. The New Action Items
Final slide.
Next Steps
• Simplify approval paths
• Assign clear owners upfront
• Avoid over-scaling process prematurely
Raon read it twice.
"That's… actually correct."
Shion nodded. "Because reality won."
14. The Meeting Ends
Smiles returned.
People thanked each other.
The executive praised "open dialogue."
The manager nodded enthusiastically.
Raon shut her laptop harder than necessary.
15. Post-Meeting Debrief (Two Chairs)
They sat outside, concrete steps warm under the afternoon sun.
Raon leaned back.
"They stole our lesson."
Shion shook her head. "No. They institutionalized it."
"Without credit."
"Credit is fragile," Shion said. "Outcomes last longer."
Raon frowned. "You're saying we won."
"Yes."
"…Quietly."
Shion smiled.
"The best kind."
16. Raon's Reflection
Raon stared at her boots.
"I still wanted to kick something."
Shion replied, "You redirected the kick."
"Into a slide deck."
"Yes."
Raon snorted. "That's cursed."
17. The Final Message
A Slack ping arrived.
From the manager.
Thanks again for the thoughtful input today — really helped shape the outcome.
Raon stared at it.
"They said thank you."
Shion closed her notebook.
"Take the win."
18. End Note
Raon stood up.
"Next time," she said, "I'm naming ownership immediately."
Shion smiled.
"That's the real lesson."
Raon paused.
"…Still kicking sometimes though."
Shion walked ahead.
"Strategically."
END OF CHAPTER 208