What an incredible week!
For the first time in my life, at the age of 55, I am unemployed. As anticipated, I was laid off this week as further cuts were made in the oil patch in Calgary (Nexen Canada layoffs).
It was an interesting experience being on the other side of the desk, I am a senior HR professional and have been involved in hundreds of layoffs. I developed the layoff process for our company, and it was ironic to be the recipient of that process.
Guy Kawasaki says that there are two kinds of people "Bakers and Eaters" - I wanted to be a baker.
I have given many seminars and presentations to networking groups about how to manage after layoff, and with my background, I was determined to make it a positive experience, both for me and the company:
For the first time in my life, at the age of 55, I am unemployed. As anticipated, I was laid off this week as further cuts were made in the oil patch in Calgary (Nexen Canada layoffs).
It was an interesting experience being on the other side of the desk, I am a senior HR professional and have been involved in hundreds of layoffs. I developed the layoff process for our company, and it was ironic to be the recipient of that process.
Guy Kawasaki says that there are two kinds of people "Bakers and Eaters" - I wanted to be a baker.
I have given many seminars and presentations to networking groups about how to manage after layoff, and with my background, I was determined to make it a positive experience, both for me and the company:
- I spent time preparing copious transition notes for the person that would inherit my work.
- I cleared my office before it happened
- I labeled my on line files clearly for others to be able to access
- I removed all personal files from the office and computer
After I left, I sent a note to the Chief HR Officer (CHRO) to thank him for his guidance and influence over the course of our working relationship.....or as Guy Kawasaki would say "How can I help that person" and not "How can they help me"
Of course, employees and co-workers reached out to me and updated me on what was happening. I was touched that during a town hall meeting the CHRO said "yesterday was a tough day for everybody, the only bright spot in my day was receiving an email from Jeni Whiting". He has since reached out with a delightful email of support and encouragement and has arranged to meet for lunch on Monday.
So how does this help me on my entrepreneurship journey? I now have a very influential ally who I believe will be willing to support my new business in a very real way, and I will have the opportunity to discuss it with him this week. My email to him may have been (unintentionally) the smartest move I made this week!
I am now a step closer to setting up an outplacement business. Carly Fiorina said that leadership is about 3 things: Capability, Collaboration and Character. This is a critical element to setting up a new business. I have spent many years developing the capability, but the importance of collaboration and character are critical.
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