Forest from the Trees

In recent weeks, there have been a few of our partners that have made strategic staffing moves that have ultimately left some good people out of a job. That is not to say these transactions were good or bad, and we are placing no judgement on anyone for these decisions, it is just a part of the business reality we all live in. One day you are a star, the next day you may be expendable. A terrible, but true, reality.

In talking to some of these folks about their sudden change of their individual realities, one thing I have been able to share with them…..

It happened to me once too.

There was a time when I was on the outside, not understanding why suddenly it was me sitting in my kitchen with no job to go to. Did I see it coming, yes. Was I prepared for it, no. It was just politics at work. One thing I can tell you though, the day I walked out of that office was a defining point in my life. That may have been the most positive thing that has ever happened to me professionally. Yet at the time, I didn’t understand it. I felt betrayed (and I was). I was so upset, I couldn’t see the forest from the trees. What ended up being one of the best things that ever happened to me, I couldn’t understand it.

(Note: When this happened we were the reigning sports commission of the year, odd timing for sure).

Today, I am forever grateful for that day 14 years ago. Leaving that job opened the door for the Huddle Up Group to be born. And while my staff at the time were also upset and confused, I can tell you that today, each one of them is thriving in a better place, making more money and carrying more responsibility than they ever would have had in the organization we were with back then. They all have started awesome families and quite frankly, are free of most of the political junk that we had to deal with back then.

Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes, another one opens.” That is certainly true in my case. And while those that suddenly find themselves on the sidelines right now, know that everything happens for a reason. As it was in my case, this setback is temporary and it is meant to set you up for something bigger and better in the future. Even if you can’t see it, larger powers are at work on your behalf.

One final thought on this…..

At the time that this happened to me, I had opportunities to go run a fourth sports commission. That would have been hitting the easy button. Go do what you have done before somewhere else. While the wounds were still fresh, my wife Sharon and I had this conversation. Do we want to pick up and move to destination X or destination Y? Her answer I can still hear in my head now over a decade ago.

“What are you going to learn from that?”

She then followed up with this nugget…..

“Everything you have done in your career to this point has set you up to start your own thing. If you put your shingle out there as a consultant, your people will take care of you. The phone will ring.”

I didn’t believe her. Before I could contest her idea, she hit me with this…..

“Try it for a year, if it doesn’t work out, we can go run another sports commission. But I guarantee you, it is going to work out.”

No truer words were ever spoken in our kitchen.

The moral to this story are twofold. One, if something like this happened to you it is for a reason, maybe even one you can’t comprehend. Two, surround yourself with smart people so if and when this type of thing does happen, there is a voice of reason in the discussion beyond your own thoughts.

If this happens to you, know that you are not alone. These types of things happen to the best sometimes. Turn whatever negative energy you have into a positive force. Know that whatever happened was to set you up for the next adventure.