The Day I Resigned and Got a Bag of Dog Biscuits
I looked out a across the ocean and a gloriously sunny spring morning. My wife was four months pregnant and my two older kids were playing contently in the water. Then it came to me – the decision had been made. I turned to my wife Mary, and said “I’m going to resign”.
I’d been with my employer for a number of years, and in multiple locations throughout the world. To be fair I’d done well. The top Sales person in the UK, I’d been on a good wicket. I had come home to NZ to set up a new branch from scratch in a new city. I then managed a change programme in another location – all with great results. I was a Director, had equity in the business, received a healthy pay cheque each month and had the company car. The problem was that I hadn’t been happy in my job for over a year.
I grew increasingly unhappy as I made my way up the food chain. As I got closer to the strategic decision-making I gained insights I wasn’t comfortable with. It was all about “the bottom line”. Whilst a bottom line focus is good in any business, it was the way we were getting there I had a problem with. I had lost faith. There had to be a better way.
Unfortunately my unhappiness started to affect my personal life and I began “taking things home”. The stress meant I was losing sleep. I began to hate getting up in the morning and going to work. I was in a rut. The problem I had was that I had two wonderful kids and a pregnant wife to support. I had a mortgage and bills to pay. I was stuck in a dreadful situation. I had to get away from work – so booked a holiday, so I could think clearly.
Once I got away from the office and the noise, I had clarity. I’d made the decision that it was better to be happy, than an unhappy soul. A cloud seemed to lift.
The resignation process was hard – like breaking up with a long time partner. I handed my resignation letter over and was walked off the premises without a goodbye. I sort of understood why, after all I was privy to commercially sensitive information. But it still hurt. Not being able to say goodbye to my colleagues that day was gut wrenching. Emptying out my company car and standing on the side of the road with no way home was a humiliation. I still remember the plastic bag they gave me to put my belongings in had dog biscuits in the bottom. After removing the dog biscuits I put my photo of Mary and the kids in the bag, along with my other bits and bobs. I called a taxi.
Amazingly, the next week I felt wonderful, life was good again.
Fast forward to today and business is great. I’m earning more now than I was, and can work the hours I please. The business has a purpose. I’ve taken all the things I was disillusioned with and turned them into values that are the core of our business. Seeing clients and candidates evolve is immensely satisfying.
I now take great care to clearly understand the culture and operating standards within each of our client businesses. Matching this with the right candidate gives me great pride today.
My clients are treated like gold, and just maybe, that’s the reason things are going so well. And another lesson I learnt: you’re in control of your decisions. If you’re not happy, do something about it. Don’t be scared. Have faith. Have fun. There’s no time like now.
Takeout:
- You need to understand the culture you’ll excel in, in order to exceed targets
- Change can be scary but will only help you grow
- The happier you are, the more productive you will be
#evolvingtalent #exceedingtargets #lifebalance