I believe in karma. I especially believe in corporate karma.
Unfortunately, I have heard more bad stories than good stories of how people leave companies. A big driver of this is one of my principles of Personal Profitability – you don’t control when you retire/leave. Conventional wisdom is that it happens at 65….as if that’s a rule. Whether you call it retirement, or spending more time with the family, or whatever….net net you are leaving. Sometimes the leaving is handled with respect and dignity….sometimes the leaving is as abrupt as finding the locks changed when you go home that night.
So hear are some lessons learned:
- Be a little paranoid: Have you been in your role a long time? Have most of your colleagues you started with left? Are you the highest paid in your peer group? Do you have few direct reports? Do you have someone at your level reporting to you? Like it or not, people will start thinking…”can we get this job done cheaper?” or “do we need this layer?”
- Have options: personally, I don’t want to stay where I’m not wanted. Ever. It can be due to chemistry with a boss, the type of work I’m doing…it’s not worth being miserable. It’s important to always have relationships with people who can help you find something new. You don’t need many…but you need the one person who has the power and seniority…and the kind of relationships where they’ll help you in a heartbeat.
- Have an emergency fund: if it happens before you’ve planned for it, make sure you have cash to pay your bills for as long as you think it will take to get a new job. Take the steps while you’re working to get that extra insurance: e.g. a home equity line of credit, refinancing a mortgage. The world will look at you differently when you don’t have a predictable source of income.
- It”s not you. I find the good people think they did something wrong. The bad people just blame everyone else. Assuming you’re a good person, you can’t take it personally. Decisions for change happen all the time…a lot of it’s not in your control.
- Be happy if the process is with respect, but don’t be surprised if it’s not. What you think you should get and what the company thinks are often two different things. It can often be a difficult conversation. Be prepared. Try not to let a bad ending spoil everything you’ve accomplished and all the people you’ve helped along the way.
Why is this post called karma? Because in my experience, those people who don’t treat folks with dignity and respect do get payback sometime later. It’s just a matter of time…but I’ve never seen it not happen. As my Italian godmother would say “It’s in God’s court.”