Today's Business Lessons
Quitting your job?
It’s been a great year. I have been doing talks and trainings more than ever.
My speaking commitments have required me to travel to many parts of
the world that waiting in airports integrated itself to my regular work
life.
Business organizations invite me to provide leadership trainings and
conduct lectures on productivity and excellence. Most of these
engagements are repeat businesses. And what blesses my heart is that new
clients continue to pour almost every day.
I have a fast work pace. The lesson preparation is rigorous and time
flies so fast. I do a lot of speaking engagements, but one seminar I
particularly like doing is my leadership seminar and workshop entitled
“Level Up Leadership.”
The most recent one had 105 participants and this seminar turned out
to be one of the most inspiring and engaging runs we ever had.
After the seminar, one participant – a senior business executive
whose name I prefer not to mention – pulled me aside and gave me his
story.
He said, “Francis, many years ago I decided to quit my job because my
company did not live up to their part of the commitment. They owed me
millions in terms of override commissions and they were unwilling to
pay. The president of my firm fought for it, but the board turned down
the request and was willing to go to court to defend their view. I was
so frustrated when my president told me that he could not secure the
board’s approval, but he encouraged me to be patient because I was being
groomed to be the next president of the division.”
Then I asked him, “What happened next?”
He shook his head and answered sadly, “I left my job. I walked away.
My friends and colleagues thought I was so courageous, that I did the
right thing and that they wished they had the courage to do the same. I
was the topic of the company and the whole industry.”
He continued, “Twenty plus years later and here I am. I have jumped
from one company to another. I was always placed in a high position, but
never the highest one. I regretted the decision I made because of my
emotional state. If I could live my life again, I would stay, nurse my
hurts and trust my president to do his part of the promise.”
There are lessons we can learn from this.
While it feels great to finally be ‘freed’ from the job or hear the
accompanying vocal admirations, that feeling does not last long.
The reality of finding another job that has the same amount of pay and importance is difficult.
Quitting carries financial ramifications. Quitting doesn’t entitle
the quitter to benefits and pay. These short moments of ‘freedom’ are
actually very expensive and unsettling.
Another important realization is that quitting a job without a ready
alternative is extremely shortsighted. A vibrant and promising career
could easily go downhill without this alternative in place.
Never make a major decision when you are at the height of your
emotions because you might live the rest of your life regretting that
decision. A wrong decision always comes with a big price.
I get to learn a lot and this is why I love my job.
Leadership skills are life skills.
Everybody has a unique leadership story. So, what about yours?
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