I was a part of a targeted lay-off earlier this year (I.e. I was fired under the guise of budget cuts) and frankly… I know why. I challenged the status quo. I didn’t keep my head down and drink the juice like I was supposed to. But, I have no regrets. And I know I made a positive impact.
I was sick of chaotic work processes, causing psychological havoc, that were allowed to fester by complacent, incompetent, and arrogant managers who were, like so many, not there for the right reasons.
I had worked for this organization for a long time. The money is so good that few ever leave. Instead, they slowly morph into complacent complainers, their lives painted a shade greyer by their charades within this sick organization.
Unsurprisingly, I knew I didn’t want to stay with the organization forever. My frugal financial psychology, shaped in part by being raised below the poverty line, and having a job where I was making 6 figures, allowed me to save and put away a nest egg.
These factors all led me to become a “renegade employee”, which was not in character for me.
It is an experience I’m glad I had, as it has made me incredibly confident in my abilities.
I worked long hours to flesh out the software project I was working on and it became a centrifugal part of the organization’s processes, saving the organization millions. I even received an award from the company. None of this was surprising to me. I had repeatedly seen similar occurrences, on other projects in different divisions of the organization, where a sprinkle of bona fide creativity and some hard work amounted to unprecedented success; soon to be extinguished with metrics, meetings, and spreadsheets.
And, as I had expected, the managers I spoke of earlier began circling like vultures, squabbling over who would get control of and credit for the project and who would get an easy ride up the ladder. I knew I was on the chopping block because they needed someone they could easily control, and I wasn’t it this time. I even got to train my replacement.
Since I knew I was okay financially, and since frankly, I had been in much more dire straights, my last day as an employee felt like a graduation. There was the inevitable fear of not knowing what was coming next, combined with a sense of freedom.
Deeper than my fear was a hint of providence, as if life was guiding me where I needed to go. Some part of me had been secretly waiting for that moment.
The whole situation slowly degaussed in my mind until I saw it as an opportunity… to strike out on my own.
Purpose Enhances Life and Work
In the last few months, I’ve had a lot of time to decipher my past. I am mining all the wisdom from my experiences, both personal and professional, and I’m writing about them.
A pattern I saw repeatedly as a hard-working creative within my previous organization, was as follows:
I’ve pondered why this pattern exists for me. And I’ve concluded it boils down to purpose.
A sense of purpose, or as Simon Sinek says “the why”, of what we do is the most important determiner of success.
From my repeated successes in different environments, it may seem like I have natural gifts in business, leadership, and creative endeavors, but all those things are just a matter of experience. Those skills come to anyone who puts in enough time and effort.
Perhaps it is my empathetic nature, but I am able to bring that level of drive and focus to whatever I work on because I can see how each action I take affects others, and I see work as service to them. No action we take exists in a vacuum. Even when it seems like we aren’t having an impact, we are.
If a company’s processes are running efficiently, maybe the company makes a bit more profit. But that’s not a driving factor for me. The reason I worked so hard on the projects at my former company is that process clarity mean less psychological taxation for everyone.
It means people have more energy when they get home from work.
Perhaps it means a little more quality time with their family.
Or maybe, it equates to one less work-related suicide.
Yes, it’s that serious to me.
~ Best wishes,
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