Toward the end of 1999, my employer The Coca-Cola Company held layoffs for the first time in the company’s 100+ year history. At the time, my career was flying high. I was part of an internal, elite group of executive coaches and consultants doing cutting edge work – using organizational learning to create competitive advantage in the marketplace. I was increasingly being sent to work with senior executives overseas on the business, and receiving top reviews from my bosses and my customers alike. And then, suddenly, the gig was up.
The CEO at the time was ousted – bad for him and bad for me. My department had been created as one of his key strategic initiatives and, despite our many successes, the new CEO wanted nothing to do with us. We were all out of a job, literally. I learned a really important lesson then about the new reality of work and jobs in the 21st century: no matter how good you are or how well you perform, no job is guaranteed. All work is in fact project work.
Luckily I had been working with an executive coach for the better part of a year, to get clear on what I truly wanted in my life and my career. So I literally took the severance money and ran. I headed toward the 3 things I knew for sure: a) I wanted to take a six-month sabbatical to recharge my mind, body and spirit; b) I wanted to start my own business; and c) I wanted to get married and have a family.
Fast forward eighteen months – I’m in a wedding dress, standing in a beautiful, old building on the campus of the University of Michigan. My husband Kevin and my two, wonderful new stepdaughters are hugging me. My best friend and now business partner is smiling in the front row. And I’m fit, relaxed, rested and healthy after my six-month sabbatical (which is how/when/where my new business and my new husband showed up in my life).
I was truly out of the pan, jumping into the fire – the fire of self-employment, marriage, and parenthood. It was a blaze that felt good, warm and fully alive. I was charged up and ready for whatever work and life would bring. Did I mention to be careful what you wish for??
