the layoff and restructure was the single most taxing and emotionally draining experience of my professional career. there is a scar tissue that i dont believe will fade. it sucked. the whole experience can go kick rocks and the mess that it created has spawned more uncertainty that is hard to navigate. however, i do believe that the time and energy spent to get through that restructure a more prosperous future.
i don't want to do that again and it's going to take me a while to get back to the output and productivity i once had. amidst all that, we struggle and continue to have an achilles heel in sales with good old fashioned communication and prioritization. what do we need to get done today, this week, this month - how are we gonna do it and who's owning it? ok. go. we have far too many internal meetings, deliberations and shifting messages. distill it down and keep it simple, especially for us on the front lines. it's been at times chaotic and other times mind numbing. the amount of problems we've had to solve for stacks miles high and people are tired.
then again we're doing something we've never had to do before; lay-off 300 people, pick up the pieces, and move the company in a new direction. it's not easy. but we did slack on the fundamentals and that slowed us down significantly.
someone once said:
“great leaders are the ones who think beyond “short term” versus “long term.” They are the ones who know that it is not about the next quarter or the next election; it is about the next generation.”
deep down though i know that despite all the frustrating and agonizing days that were this summer, they were meant to set our next generation up for something good. if you're reading this and you did something at some time to have someone's back to protect, coach, develop or counsel a colleague, direct report or peer through all of this, know you're appreciated. i speak for all of them.
