Cutting Your Losses

I had lunch with a remarkable executive and entrepreneur this past week. As I asked for insight into this person’s background, I heard a rare story.

The entrepreneur’s company had been purchased by a large, global corporation. This individual was required to stay 3 years to earn the complete payout. For this person, staying was misery. After a little over a year, an attorney was contacted with the message, “Get me out of here!” And, not too soon thereafter, the entrepreneur was liberated.

While the big payday was lessened by the early departure, the big payday wasn’t nearly as important as the unhappiness of staying. I’ve known a lot of executives who’ve lived with this unhappy circumstance just to earn the full payout. They can’t wait for time to lapse.

I love this story. The entrepreneur found a way to negotiate out of what turned out to be a bad situation. It’s an important lesson offered don’t you think?

Life is too short to be miserable. Find a way to extricate yourself from an unhappy situation.

Thought for the week:
“If we continue to judge ourselves by our ability to fit in, we will never stand out.” – Sir Richard Branson