A meeting in the conference room last week focused on our retail team's challenges. I brought up a point about how Dallas has been thriving with innovative outreach, while our team at Cupertino feels cut off. The look I got back felt dismissive. It's like they only listen to what comes out of the local offices, not realizing the real work is happening in stores. I couldn't shake the feeling that everything we do at the ground level barely registers with them. It's frustrating because despite the effort we put in, the perception from corporate seems locked in. There's a clear divide, and it makes collaboration feel one-sided. Yet, I still try to push our successes on every call, hoping to bridge that gap. But sometimes it feels like yelling into a void, especially when they seem more focused on office politics than our actual contributions in retail.