If You Could Fire Yourself – Or Your Employer – Would You? In today’s job market, that might be your best option. Recently, I picked up the book “Thank You For Firing Me! How to catch the next wave of success after you lose your job” by Kitty Martini and Candice Reed.
It is an easy read but thought provoking for anyone that has given serious thought to a career change. While reading it, it inspired a great deal of thought and raised more than a few questions.
The title itself inspires the most interesting question even though I have rephrased it: If you could fire yourself, would you? I understand the incredulous expression on your face as if to ask, “Why would I consider firing myself when I’m fortunate just to have a job!” Yeah, that’s true but I am certain you have wondered what you would do if you got the call from Human Resources at your company. Undoubtedly, you know someone that has. Let’s assume you did get the call; are you prepared for it? I am suggesting that the employment picture today should have inspired you to at least entertain the possibility.
You could be employed or unemployed and the suggestions I offer apply to both conditions. If you are employed, your ultimate goal should be to fire yourself – Or your employer. If you are unemployed, your goal is to rehire yourself but, with a twist: leverage your time, energy, skills, and passion to reward yourself on a part-time or a full time basis– not your employer. Is this easier said than done?
Success is not guaranteed, if that is your question. Going solo as many have done can be daunting if you are, for example, the high achiever in a Manhattan law firm or a broker on Wall Street – with the lifestyle and all the requisite “toys.” It is no less a challenge for the employee stuck in a job they really don’t like. Both individuals may have had a dream but life and opportunity took each in a different direction. So my question to each one is “How motivated are you to decide if self-employment is right for you? If you really want to know, you need to uncover and examine “the blind spots or context holding you back” from pursing that dream you once had. Find out where your current context originated and address it for what it really is. That helps you to understand how you arrived at where you are – your point of departure.
You know that something is missing in your life, but what is it? The authors Martini and Reed recommend this brainstorming idea which is really stimulating. Write something after each of the four categories: Skills, Passion, Burning Desire, and What’s Missing. I completed a similar exercise earlier in my career and it gave me an intensity of focus instrumental to my success. Take the time; it is to your benefit.
If this exercise seems abstract, set it aside after you complete it and try the following to determine if you are a good candidate to fire yourself.
For the next two weeks, during your lunch break, take a pen and a pad, find a secluded spot – including your car if that is the only space available – and ask yourself, apart from family, what am I really passionate about? Not, what do I do that I do well but, what really hits my hot botton? Write down whatever comes to mind no matter how bizarre or unrealistic it may sound at first blush. This is however a foundation question. Let me help you get started: are you passionate about helping people, causes (hunger, renewable energy, the environment), particular issues (world peace, ending the war in Afghanistan, closing Guantanamo), solving problems (illegal immigration, job creation), or just making money? Whatever it is, write it down. Part of the process will involve discussing your ideas with a trusted advisor.
Next, ask yourself, what am I good at? Each of us is unique, but, what are your strengths and weaknesses? Do you leverage your strengths? Does your job require that you do so? When was the last time you did and what was the outcome? Then, focus on personal goals. You may have set them aside to focus on more immediate short-term goals but, now, you need to take the time to try and connect with your former self with the head full of dreams. This can be difficult for those conditioned to think and act in the short term: paycheck to paycheck. Think medium-to-long term – five to ten years. What would you consider success at that time if you could start a new career?
The next question concerns your financial plan. Here, you will need to transition from where you are to your new life and that level of reality can be really scary. Don’t panic because everyone is dealing with it on some level. If you are really serious, stop worrying about the risks and start living your life! I would urge you to read chapter five of “Thank You For Firing Me” because the authors offer considerable detail on “Staying Afloat: Finance Your New Life.” If you are the owner of a small business enterprise, ask yourself if the projected rate of return from your business during the past five years positioned you to achieve the five-year goals you set at that time? If not, what changes did you make in your financial plan for the next five years?
These two questions assume you have a financial plan and revisit it at least twice annually. If you still have a job, will your current rate of savings – provided you remain employed – position you to achieve financial goals you have set for your future? Write down your answers – and be truthful. You will be either the beneficiary or the victim. If you have pre-college age children, here is the question: will I have to borrow from my 401K to pay tuition in the next several years? Is it likely that my children will qualify for a scholarship? Is college only possible if they qualify for financial assistance? It used to be that we borrowed against the equity in our home. That is less likely in today’s housing market.
Now that you are focussed on your finances, here is the next question. If you could marshal your limited resources, leverage your time and skills to pursue something you are truly passionate about, would you achieve your financial goals? You need to resolve this to avoid self-recrimination later. Unless you are wealthy, you have to do something somewhere for someone – or yourself – to earn a living. Which would be your preference? Studies reveal that the average American, including highly-paid professionals, would prefer to work for themselves. So, why not assume you are average!
In a recent report titled “Work, Entrepreneurship and Opportunity in 21st Century America”, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, “Millions of Americans are embracing entrepreneurship by running their own small businesses, through independent contracting or direct selling.” In that same report was a Gallup poll finding that 61 percent of Americans prefer to be their own boss. This may be you.
Now, let’s try to put it all together. Here is your daily mantra. You look at the following statement each morning, several times during the day, and before you go to bed at night. If you have a spouse, share it with them as well; they are your first-line support system and they need to be onboard: “I am taking charge of my life and will move it in the direction of my passion. I will control what I can and discard the rest. What I can control are my thoughts and my actions.”
The Plan: You need a plan of action that will include the results of the exercises you completed. The plan must: identify WHAT you want to do; state in clear terms WHY you want to do it; COMMIT to its success; and delineate HOW you are going to give shape to the goals you have established. Whatever you do, your activities must produce real satisfaction; the kind that says, sometimes sleep is secondary or, on occasion, food can wait, but, you have to be about what you have chosen to do. During your self-assessment exercise, you identified your dislikes and weaknesses. This will fortify you against falling back into a pattern of doing something you know how to do but dislike. We can and do condition ourselves into patterns of thought and behavior. It is also called needing a paycheck.
Here, I will speak to the unemployed or the recently fired. One of you has stared into the abyss, the other is about to. If you are recently unemployed, do not become discouraged and do not panic! Think positive! Here is how to use your time after completing the exercises I gave you earlier. Here is the big hairy question for you: Should you begin another career in this lifetime? Or, just look for another job? You’ve changed if you’re beyond your mid-thirties. If the idea excites you, let’s translate the results of your exercise into an action plan. You need a roadmap so let’s build one. You have had time to think about the idea of starting a business because you want more control over your life and your finances. So, connect with your inner entrepreneur.
The timing might be right for you. In business – of whatever type – nothing moves, nothing is sold, nothing happens until there is a connection between at least two people. From that connection, a demand is identified and met; a problem is solved. Now, you are in business! So, connect with people through social media, local organizations, friends, former colleagues, etc. Reach out and enjoy the experience of having the time to connect.
As a budding entrepreneur, your power to connect will be your most valuable asset. One thing will inevitably happen: through the power of connection, someone will identify a problem they have. Ask yourself if you can solve it. You solve problems; the path to your door becomes well worn. You are now responding to a passion, solving problems, thus responding to demand; leveraging your skills, building on your strengths while feeling a sense of satisfaction you have not felt recently. It is either this or the alternatives: stare into the abyss while it stares back; atrophy at home in front of the television; search for another job, or believe in yourself that the time is right to do it your way. Begin by thanking your former employer for firing you, or thank yourself for firing yourself from that job you did not like thus opening the door to rehire yourself.
