I told myself when I was a college student that when I graduated and became immersed in my career in the business world that I would never be fired. I was young and na?ve. At that time I believed that if I worked hard, followed the rules and went above and beyond what was expected by the company, that I would always be rewarded and have a career that would be wildly successful. Boy, did I get fooled.
It took a while before things took a wrong turn. Actually, all the way into my forties, the plan from my youth seemed to be working just fine. But, then, I hit a snag. My friend has a term he uses for what happened to me. He calls them the “corporate clones.” Several years ago I found a sweatshirt that I like to wear these days that sums up the situation for me. The sweatshirt has the Three Stooges carrying brief cases emblazoned on the front, with the caption “Corporate Stooges” below it.
After putting in the best four years of my career, with the best four profit years in the history of the newspaper I was managing at the time, I got a new boss. For whatever reason, he didn”t like me and within a year, he called me into his office on a Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. and bluntly gave me my walking papers. He seemed to really enjoy giving me the ax. It was at that point that my attitude toward the corporate world changed.
I have always understood that a newspaper publisher, like a head coach, is a tenuous position. You have to produce winning seasons or you don”t get to stay. Well, I produced the wins and I still got cut.
Two years into my next publishing position, the paper was sold and the new owner wanted someone from his own team to run the newspaper I was managing. So, I was on the road once again.
Being fired, in any business, other than coaching, used to be the kiss of death for a manager with aspirations for a high career finish. Thank goodness the world has changed and a termination on the resume isn”t nearly the black mark that it once was. People are aware of how corporate culture has changed.
These days, getting fired sometimes turns out to be the best thing that could happen to an individual. We are able to stop, reflect and perhaps move in a better direction than the path we were heading down.
Right now, the economy is being unkind to many. Millions of people have been terminated from their jobs, nationwide. It isn”t the ideal time to be out prospecting for a new job, if you have been terminated. It will probably take longer to find another job. But, treat the situation as a new beginning, especially if what you were doing wasn”t providing a high level of satisfaction for you. Think about all the possible types of work you are capable of doing and aim toward work that will be more fulfilling and make you happier.
Gary Dickson is the Record-Bee Publisher. Contact him at gdickson@record-bee.com or 263-5636 ext. 24.
