When I counsel businessmen and women seeking to open or expand a business, one of the things I put great emphasis on is the "exit strategy" as part of their business plan. Whether they exit

to retire,
to provide for their families if they expire,
to rekindle the fire,exiting is as important to a business plan as entering.

There are many successful "serial entrepreneurs" who get a big adrenalin rush from creating and bringing new businesses to a measure of success, but then they get bored with the normal trials and tribulations of maintaining such a business with only incremental change, improvement, and expansion.

Some get over that "itch" by going on major merger and acquisition binges, building wild conglomerations of multiple lines of business.

Others go on a different tack and shed the current business and start a new one.

In a curious analogy, finding and landing a new job carries a similar decision crisis with many folks.

In the worst possible scenario, of course, some folks get fired before they get settled.

In other scenarios, they discover the true work environment is diametrically opposite from what they had been led to believe and they need an escape hatch NOW!

For most, though, the situation causing the decision crisis comes somewhere down the road, after they've settled in and become comfortable with the job.

Think up your own list, but here's a quick one:

organization management changes
(death, promotion, merger, acquisition)
competition makes the product or service obsolete
(buggy whips in an automotive world)
family circumstances change
(birth, death, marriage, divorce, illness)
employee learns new skills, but current organization has no place to use them (got a new MBA?)
grass looks greener in the next pastureNo matter what the trigger, the situation is still the same: the individual needs an exit strategy for the smoothest and most efficient transition possible.

Over the next week or so, we'll discuss both the triggers and the strategies.

In the meantime, tell us about a good or bad experience in exiting or escaping a work situation.

In the meantime, tell us about a good or bad experience in exiting or escaping a work situation.

There we were and the helicopters we needed to get out were all shot up.....

I'll bet that's not the kind of work related escape you wanted.:lol:


My last real world "escape" started with my receiving a phone call and someone saying "what would we have to pay you to...." The next thing I knew I had been taught the secret handshake and clubhouse password for where I am now. I had actually been hoping for an "out" about 30 days after taking my last EHS management job and had started to look around and the tiimg of the call couldn't have been better. It has worked out fine with little heartburn during the process.

There we were and the helicopters we needed to get out were all shot up.....

I'll bet that's not the kind of work related escape you wanted.:lol:Actually, it is! Obviously, whatever strategy your unit had for survival included an alternate escape route if the air evac was SNAFUed. It worked somewhat because you are here to tell the tale. It may not have been perfect if your unit suffered casualties and injuries that might have been avoided with the original air evac.


My last real world "escape" started with my receiving a phone call and someone saying "what would we have to pay you to...." The next thing I knew I had been taught the secret handshake and clubhouse password for where I am now. I had actually been hoping for an "out" about 30 days after taking my last EHS management job and had started to look around and the tiimg of the call couldn't have been better. It has worked out fine with little heartburn during the process.Obviously, you didn't have a concrete strategy for exit or escape. It probably came as a surprise that the new work situation began to deteriorate for you so quickly.

My thesis here in this thread is that "stuff" happens and we should have some strategy for dealing with it if [and when] it does. Call it "Employment FMEA" (Failure Mode & Effects .) So we will be exploring Employment FMEA throughout this thread.

Looks like an interesting subject. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this thread :agree1:

They came in and fired my boss four weeks ago. The next week one of my coworkers gave his two weeks notice, his last day was this past Friday. Things are interesting around here. My father once told me to never depend on anything lasting forever and always look for the next job, so I do.

Everyone is talking about how bad things are going around here and I think back to the morning in June 95 when I went to work and woke up in July and everything I knew, everything I believed in, and everything I depended on no longer existed. I tell the people around me that I have been around when things go bad and things are not nearly bad yet.

I always look for the next job out of habit. I have made an assessment of what I need and what I will accept. After my wife died three years ago I eliminated all of my debt except for one last student loan. I have enough cash on hand to grab and live on for a few weeks and enough savings to live on for well over a year. I am resourceful. When FUBAR happens again, if I am still alive, I will move on to the next thing.

Some folks will remember Howard's story in Quality Progress earlier this year. I'm not sure it is accessible to non-ASQ members at http://www.asq.org/data/subscriptions/qp/2007/0307/qp0307firstperson.pdf
but it IS inspiring and vividly demonstrates that folks CAN recover from disastrous events and survive, even thrive.

If it is NOT accessible, let me know and I will CONSPIRE with Howard to find a way for you to read it.

Wes - it is not available unless you are a member.

You twisted my arm Wes, here is a copy and being the author I can post it as long as I point out that it is now property of Quality Progress or ASQ or whoever. That's okay by me, I'm the one risen from the dead. Here's the link to the original thread: Article "Quality Control and Brain Damage", Quality Progress, March 2007 (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=20812) A copy of the file is in the sixth post.

You twisted my arm Wes, here is a copy and being the author I can post it as long as I point out that it is now property of Quality Progress or ASQ or whoever. That's okay by me, I'm the one risen from the dead. Here's the link to the original thread: http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=20812 A copy of the file is in the sixth post.Thanks. I had forgotten you posted an original copy. Direct link is (http://elsmar.com/Forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6554&d=1173444746)

Earlier, I talked about "serial entrepreneurs." A close analogy in the employment world would be consultants and contract workers - folks always ready to pick up and move to a new organization or location.

Obviously, a small proportion of these folks are marking time until the ideal permanent position comes along, but most of them enjoy the stress and tension of continually meeting new situations.

Even so, they still have some of the basics of an "exit strategy" as part of their arsenal:
resume always current
close eye on the general market, maintaining a list of "next places"
pay close attention to being "likable" to keep good references and maintain a reputation of easy to fit in and work with
constantly on the alert to learn new things to make themselves more marketable (and thus more valuable to current AND each new organization)
always alert to the "danger signals" to know when to jump shipMaybe number 5 (alert to danger signals) is a good place to start. Almost invariably, folks who get terminated involuntarily say it came as a surprise. Actually, when we sit down and play back the weeks and months leading up to the termination, we find the signals were all there, but the victim was too complacent and just didn't recognize them for what they were.

Our next installment will be on danger signals and how to recognize them and make a decision whether to take action to stay or to leave.

In the meantime, let's hear about some of the signals you saw in time (or not) which led to your voluntary or involuntary exit.

Many religions and organizations incorporate a version of the following statement into their tenets and canons:
"the moment you begin to live, that moment you also begin to die."

Death and change are inevitable. It seems to me logical to do what you can to prepare for them to avoid drastic consequences to yourself and to your loved ones.

In the everyday world, many folks buy insurance to ameliorate some of the risk, but the fact is that in the case of a fire in a building you happen to be in, you'd probably be more happy with an escape route to save your life than with an insurance payment to your survivors after you die a horrid death in a fire.

Similarly, in a job loss situation, you'd probably be happier escaping or exiting with a new job at the same or higher pay than collecting unemployment insurance.

So, with the opening statement "the moment you begin to live, that moment you also begin to die." in mind, doesn't it seem reasonable to plan your escape route the moment you have the job and to keep evaluating the plan to make sure it accounts for changing circumstances?

From time immemorial, some folks have been advising others to plan for the future and still we see folks who are like the grasshopper in the fable of the Grasshopper and the Ant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ant_and_the_Grasshopper)
An old religious text tells of Joseph interpreting a leader's dreams and thus setting the scene (and lasting lesson) for surviving the "seven lean years" by storing up food and supplies during the seven bountiful years.

The point is we have plenty of examples throughout history of the value of advance planning, but we still have plenty of examples of large and small scale lapses in planning. (Wildfire effects in southern California anyone? How about the current drought situation endangering the Atlanta area water supply? It seems citizens and their leaders acted more like grasshoppers than ants in creating and implementing their water conservation policies.)

So, the first step in your exit strategy seems to be acknowledging a real need for one. The first one who says, "It can't happen to me!" is the one who will be MOST devastated when it does happen.

Only when you accept the fact it not only CAN happen, but that it WILL happen, will you really buckle down to prepare your own exit strategy for your job (and your life!)

I managed to stay employed with the same company, but my exit from my previous position was definitely in the cards.

The signs that the honeymoon is over:
You get minimal raises and they "forget" about the pay grade promotion that you became entitled to last year, even though you remind them

Your advice is no longer required and decisions are made contrary to it

You are asked (expected) to compromise your integrity

Work that used to be your domain is given to others, and it is not because you asked for assistance

You get a new boss who starts bringing over people from his previous job

Colleagues who have been doing a great job are let go unexpectedly

You start worrying if your friendship with those colleagues reflects negatively on you and that you'll be next - the "birds of a feather" stigma (just being honest here)

Your boss just doesn't talk to you much anymore

Things start changing all around you and you are almost the last one to know

You recognize that there's a "golden child" in the department and that you'd have to wish all kinds of evil things on that person to make any career progression yourself


That's a short list. I got tired of what I was doing, nothing was going to improve, odds were that I would one day tick my boss off enough to get fired because I didn't like/agree with things that were happening, and my choices were to ride it out to a wipeout, bail to a different company, or find something else internal.

My strategy? Confessed to my boss that I'd like to find something else. Once it wasn't a secret that I was "on the market", a Director got wind of it, and offered me a position that I'd seen posted but never dreamed I'd qualify for. Huge promotion. I'm still trying to grow into the position, but the Director is pleased with my work and I feel blessed everyday that it worked out so well.

I managed to stay employed with the same company, but my exit from my previous position was definitely in the cards.

The signs that the honeymoon is over:
You get minimal raises and they "forget" about the pay grade promotion that you became entitled to last year, even though you remind them

Your advice is no longer required and decisions are made contrary to it

You are asked (expected) to compromise your integrity

Work that used to be your domain is given to others, and it is not because you asked for assistance

You get a new boss who starts bringing over people from his previous job

Colleagues who have been doing a great job are let go unexpectedly

You start worrying if your friendship with those colleagues reflects negatively on you and that you'll be next - the "birds of a feather" stigma (just being honest here)

Your boss just doesn't talk to you much anymore

Things start changing all around you and you are almost the last one to know

You recognize that there's a "golden child" in the department and that you'd have to wish all kinds of evil things on that person to make any career progression yourself


That's a short list. I got tired of what I was doing, nothing was going to improve, odds were that I would one day tick my boss off enough to get fired because I didn't like/agree with things that were happening, and my choices were to ride it out to a wipeout, bail to a different company, or find something else internal.

My strategy? Confessed to my boss that I'd like to find something else. Once it wasn't a secret that I was "on the market", a Director got wind of it, and offered me a position that I'd seen posted but never dreamed I'd qualify for. Huge promotion. I'm still trying to grow into the position, but the Director is pleased with my work and I feel blessed everyday that it worked out so well.

Sounds like we worked the same place :notme: I just didn't get promoted :(

Definitely one of the signals you should be fine tuning your exit plan is that moment you find yourself "left out of the loop."

One of basics of surviving, hopefully thriving, in your career is becoming knowledgeable and staying knowledgeable about the "Big Picture" in your organization. Deming characterizes this activity with the elegant phrase, System of Profound Knowledge, often seen as the acronym/abbreviation: SoPK.

Anybody need a refresher course on SoPK? If so, start a new thread either here (Occupation Discussions (http://elsmar.com/Forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30)) or in the Philosophy, Gurus, Controversy and Evolution (http://elsmar.com/Forums/forumdisplay.php?f=55) Forum.

Alas, too often, our brethren in the Quality Industry tend to keep their heads down and do only the job assigned. No matter how superlatively the tasks are performed, that type of person becomes "invisible" and taken for granted.

One way to break the invisibility barrier is to embrace SoPK and become the "go to" guy for a task OR an opinion, simply because the person immersed in SoPK can put the task or opinion in context with the overall operations and aspirations of the organization, capable of sorting through the ramifications with customers, suppliers, regulators, and even community members who have a stake in the success or failure of the organization.

Let's hear some more about good or bad exits.

Today is a day to consider some of the "exit signals" common in many organizations.

HOW ABOUT SOME OF THESE?
if your organization makes a consumer product and you are embarrassed to even tell strangers what you make, let alone recommend it for purchase (this means the product quality is so shabby, regardless of price, you won't tell a stranger, let alone family or friends to buy it. It also means you don't have a way you can make it better or you'd already be working on it.)
[This does let out those who make condoms and feminine hygiene products:o
- some folks just can't bring themselves to talk about some things for reasons other than product quality;)]
if you dread going into work each day because you can't stand the way bosses or co-workers treat you
(disrespect in pay is as bad as disrespect in word or deed!)
if you see activity you are certain is illegal or unethical, but you don't have the courage to try to right the wrong.
(this activity may not even BE wrong, but if you feel that way, it's time to leave) -
[your mental well-being is more important than trying to be a world savior - reread our thread on ethics and whistle blowing Ethics - Moral law vs. Criminal law (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=9939)]It's important to note these are PERSONAL impressions you may have - your impressions may be different than mine, but only you have a sense of what you are willing to stand or willing to do to correct a bad situation. For many folks, the soliloquy from Shakespeare - "To be or not to be . . ." perfectly sums up the dilemma -
"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?"
Got any more to add to the list?

When I counsel businessmen and women seeking to open or expand a business, one of the things I put great emphasis on is the "exit strategy" as part of their business plan. Whether they exit

to retire,
to provide for their families if they expire,
to rekindle the fire,...Wes, Coming back to "serial entrepreneurs" . Can you please elaborate a little more on the last item on this list?
Thanks.

Wes, Coming back to "serial entrepreneurs" . Can you please elaborate a little more on the last item on this list?
Thanks.I think you mean:
"How does a serial entrepreneur rekindle the fire [to start a new business] when he has become bored or otherwise unhappy running his current business?"
If I'm wrong, rephrase your question because I'm going to answer the one I interpret now.

First, let's understand how most folks in the investment banking business and their counterparts in venture capital companies view the folks they call "serial entrepreneurs."

They have leadership charisma which means they can assemble a TEAM of the necessary talent to start and operate a business - these are not "lone wolves" - they are leaders of the pack.
Their business plans may have holes and dubious logic, BUT they are flexible enough to take advantage of fresh opportunities and minimize the effects of adverse conditions. (In the language of poker, these folks know when to hold, when to fold, when to raise and when to call.)
They are rarely selfish - this is the big draw for investment bankers and venture capitalists - because they are willing, even eager, for partners and investors to make money. A serial entrepreneur realizes, almost instinctively, the benefit to making a bigger pie so everyone gets a piece rather than keeping a small pie all to himself.
They create jobs for other people and never try to run a one man shop.
They realize the value of spreading work, responsibility, AND authority, but they always take personal responsibility for the success or failure of the enterprise.
They recognize when a business has reached a maturity level where it is stable and no longer needs their day-to-day oversight. This is when they hire operations managers and turn their thoughts to either exiting or adding new lines of business or new markets.At the point when the enterprise reaches maturity is the true defining point of a serial entrepreneur. Regardless of how much money he has, he recognizes his main satisfaction is the adrenalin rush he gets from creating and implementing a new business. It is important to note he is not devastated by failure. If an enterprise fails, he learns from that and uses the information in avoiding a repeat in the next business.

Just because a guy has started two or more businesses doesn't make him a serial entrepreneur. The key is in being able to inspire a team to follow him into the next venture.

Becoming bored in a successful business with no new challenges or depressed in a business that is failing are common and understandable emotions. For many [maybe most] folks, that boredom or depression can be debilitating and crippling. The serial entrepreneur takes those emotions as a trigger to start a new business - kind of therapy for depression or boredom.

In my opinion, a person has to be hard wired to be a serial entrepreneur. The rest of us, when faced with "burnout" and the need to rekindle the fire may need to call in consultants, advisors, sometimes even therapists to help. It seems like the serial entrepreneur has an automatic "reboot" that kicks in and banishes depression and boredom as he plans his next enterprise.

Odds are, if you are feeling that boredom or depression for more than a very short time (hours or days), then you probably aren't a serial entrepreneur and should consider getting outside professional help for your situation.

So, today I learned folks are still reading this thread. Even more now than when this thread began, it seems folks REALLY need to have an exit or escape plan for their current job because so many outside influences are affecting job security. When I pick up my morning paper and headlines blare "XYZ fires 3,000 workers!" it's with a combination of sadness, cynicism, and horror that I plow through the story to learn an airline or an insurance company or a manufacturer has decided the easiest expense to cut is the one where only weeks or months before they bragged "Our employees are our most important asset."

Because of these conditions, it is no longer a black mark against the candidate to be "between jobs." Despite that fact, it is still better to be looking for that job without the added desperation of scrounging and begging for money to put food on the table and thus having to take a less than optimal job to assuage that desperation.

So here's today's challenge:
Look through some job sites (ASQ, Monster, CareerBuilder, etc.) and find at least THREE positions you'd try to get if you were to get fired today (yep - you have to be pretty closely qualified for them - be realistic, not "pie in the sky.") Now when you find them, ask yourself the following questions:
What attracts me to THESE jobs?
Is there something there which seems even better than what I have now?
What can I do to determine whether I am needlessly wallowing in a rut when I could be doing something more to my liking which may pay as well or better and may have better advancement possibilities?If you don't go any farther than that, at least you will know there are SOME jobs out there and the landscape is not as bleak as it may seem.

If you want to go further and explore those jobs, be sure to arm yourself with some information about the process by first browsing through these threads:
Candidates:
Thinking about a New Job for New Year? (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=19619)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=19619
Resume and cover letter - How good are yours? (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=10169)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=10169
The Job Hunt - Care and feeding of references (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=19094)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=19094
Tips to get past the "gatekeeper" when job hunting (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=9325)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=9325

Let us know whether you took up the challenge and what you discovered about the market AND yourself!

In another thread today ( Pygmalion Effect (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=27145) ), the Cover raises a question of whether he is being "groomed" for management.

One of the primary precepts of developing an "escape policy" is keeping tabs on where you are at present. All too often, folks suddenly finding themselves out of a job say, "I had no idea this was happening." They then go on to say, "Nobody ever told me they weren't satisfied with my work." OR "I had no idea the company was so close to bankruptcy."

Almost always, 20/20 hindsight will show there WERE clear roadsigns, but the individual wasn't looking for them. In effect, a promotion strategy is just a subsection of an escape strategy. In all cases, success goes to the individual who takes charge of his life and career and manages it instead of letting it manage him. One of the ways we manage our careers is to be fully knowledgeable not only about the technical skills, but the social, political, and economic climate within the organization and about the outside influences that affect the climate within the organization.

Being knowledgeable means knowing WHO the bosses are, HOW they got to be bosses, WHAT challenges face the organization, WHERE the individual fits in resolving those challenges. It means stepping up to the plate (exemplified by Randy's Marine description - every Marine knows from day one he may have to step up to the plate to replace a fallen superior and thus he is ALWAYS ALERT to the opportunity and instantly ready without long agonizing over "Should I or shouldn't I") when the opportunity arises. That opportunity may be the promotion or it may mean changing organizations. In either case, it is CHANGE!

CHANGE is inevitable. The ideal is to be ready to take advantage of change or at least ameliorate or mitigate the damage when it occurs. Knowing change is inevitable means being less surprised and not stunned into inaction when it occurs. If the individual has planned well, the change is merely a trigger for the next phase of his life.

Ultimately, the individual has a choice in managing his career:

Be proactive
Be reactiveWhich do YOU think has a greater chance of long-term success?

Ultimately, the individual has a choice in managing his career:
Be proactive
Be reactiveWhich do YOU think has a greater chance of long-term success?

Wes is absolutely right. Once again I will refer to my sort of EXTREME experience. About a year into the recovery from my brain injury I had an epiphany: IF I DO NOT DO MORE TO TO FURTHER HOWARD'S CAUSE, HOWARD'S CAUSE PROBABLY WILL NOT GO ANY FURTHER. I realized that I could not sit around and wait for the therapist to come by and help me walk three times a week, I could walk until I fell and get back up and walk some more. I could practice reading and math without waiting on the tutor. I could sit and do memory exercises.

After two years of recovery I had improved enought that I was accepted into my state's vocational rehabilitation program. I did their menial tasks for a year and recovered enough that my counciler believed that she could probably get me a job...bagging groceries (I was 36 by then), it was as big of a chance as Voc Rehab was willing to make for me. I saw that this was all she would be able to do for me and I wouldn't accept that, so I went to the nearest technical college and took an entrance exam and enrolled in school.

I got what ever jobs I could get with "Invalid For a Few Years" as the most recent experience on my resume, but I never settled for what I could get and this is my point. Recovery from an extreme disability requires a deep personal decision to improve your condition. When a person is kncked down enough it is easy to give up and go around saying, "Poor me." It gets you nothing, the world does not care about the individual. But be careful, if you make your condition seem bad enough and you say, "Poor Me" enough, sooner or later you will find someone that agrees, "Yes, poor you." and then you are screwed.

Do what you need to do to get by and look for ways to excel. My hero is Wile E. Coyote. He always has his eyes on the prize and if he fails one thousand times, he'll try one thousand and one.

There are many things much worse that losing a job.

I've made a decision to be a little more proactive in my discontent. I went to the last school I attended and much to my surprise I found out how very little I have to complete the degree I was working on (Civil Engineering Technology). I applied for readmission, secured financing, and will be going back to school at night in January. I believe that if I go back I can finish quickly.

Dad always wondered why I opted to be a commercial diver rather than learn civil engineering back in 1981, but said that it wasn't his place to say. Maybe if he had, my life would have been much different. He sure is smart, 26 years after he died.

I've made a decision to be a little more proactive in my discontent. I went to the last school I attended and much to my surprise I found out how very little I have to complete the degree I was working on (Civil Engineering Technology). I applied for readmission, secured financing, and will be going back to school at night in January. I believe that if I go back I can finish quickly.

Dad always wondered why I opted to be a commercial diver rather than learn civil engineering back in 1981, but said that it wasn't his place to say. Maybe if he had, my life would have been much different. He sure is smart, 26 years after he died.Be sure to invite us to your graduation party! :applause: The golf is good in SC and I would be prepared to subsidize the bill for beverages!

Well Wes, I'm not an hour away from Hilton Head. I used to run a bulldozer over there. I helped build the four-lane from Hardeeville to Bluffton. But you should know...I'm radical about temperance.

Well Wes, I'm not an hour away from Hilton Head. I used to run a bulldozer over there. I helped build the four-lane from Hardeeville to Bluffton. But you should know...I'm radical about temperance.I recalled this from an earlier exchange months or years ago - hence the term "beverage!"