I don't know what the future will bring, but I know
it will be good.
I've witnessed several hundred terminations, waiting in the hallway to help a departing employee get re-employed, but this one was memorable. I was called to Missoula, Montana by a global minerals mining company. Steve, the manager, asked me to fly in the night before—he was terribly upset about having to fire Mark, a close friend.

When we met in my hotel room, Steve confirmed that he would be releasing his best friend. Their wives and children were also best friends, and the firing would ruin their friendships. Worse yet, Missoula was a small community, the job market was depressed, and steve was certain Mark would have to relocate, causing further damage. He was crying as he explained this to me, something I hadn't experienced. This was a tough situation.

The following morning he asked me to sit in on the termination, something I never do. The "good guys" don't sit in with the "bad guys." Steve said he couldn't continue if I didn't help; so I agreed. He was teary as he explained the decision to Mark. The air went out of the room, it was silent. Mark reacted calmly, saying he understood.

Mark spent two hours with his family before returning with me to Denver to begin his outplacement. On the flight I asked, "How are you doing with things?" Mark said, "I'm concerned, and my wife is worried. But I've been a survivor all my life. I was an Eagle Scout. I don't know what the future will bring, but I know it will be good."

At that moment I knew he and his family and friends would be okay.

Eighty percent of our success is determined by our attitude and expectations. Mark and I worked on his career for two days, and then he returned to Missoula. He established his own business providing logistics (building roads, etc.) for mining companies—the same thing he had done as an employee for the large corporation. His business took off quickly, and his family friendships remained intact.

I'm not retiring—I'm rewiring.
Anna Jo Haynes founded Mile High Montessori Early Learning Centers, a $5 million United Way partner agency that provides daycare and early childhood education to disadvantaged children, ages 0 to 4. There are 1,000 children under her organization's care. As she left the day-to-day management of the non-profit and recruited a President to replace her, friends asked her if she was retiring. She said no, "I'm not retiring—I'm rewiring."

Anna Jo is a national treasure. She continues to represent Mile High Montessori in the community and in the Colorado legislature, passing bills in favor of early childhood education. She's a wonderful example of re-inventing yourself. If you didn't get to meet Mother Theresa, you should sit down with Anna Jo.

You-all know a lot more about this than I do.
I met Charles B. McIlwaine when he retired from the Coleman Company. I was hired to provide his career transition counseling(outplacement). Charles had been the Vice President of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations for Coleman, in charge of all public-facing communication for the corporation, including advertising, marketing, and public relations. In addition, Charles was liaison with the industry analysts on Wall Street. It was a big job at the top of a public company.

Charles became a close friend, and later, a shareholder in CareerLab. He attended our weekly staff meetings for several years. Although a prominent executive who had been a personal friend of Sheldon Coleman, Charles was understated. He listened a lot and seldom spoke. But when he spoke in a staff meeting, we took notice.

He often began, "You-all know a lot more about this than I do, but couldn't we consider taking an equity partner to increase our market share?" Of course, everyone in the room understood that Charles knew way more than we did. Ours was, after all, a six-person company, not a 6,000-person company like Coleman. True to his title, he knew how to communicate. Our staff, board of directors, and clients all loved Charles. He was charming, and that endeared us to him.