It is certainly not my intention to offend anyone in regard to this very sensitive issue. However, when I hear that someone has lost his or her job of 20 years with a company that didn’t close its doors, well, that person must realize that someone made a decision to let go of him or her instead of someone else.
During my first job out of college, middle management attempted to fire me on at least six occasions because – as they so eloquently stated – “Grant is difficult to manage and he causes problems.”
Yet each time, upper management overturned middle management’s decision because I was doing such a good job of marketing to my customers and selling the company’s products. Executive management was not willing to risk losing the relationships I had created or the business I generated.
On one occasion, upper management laid off my manager instead of me because the organization perceived me as being more valuable than him. In hindsight, I do agree that I was unnecessarily difficult to manage at that time, but my production levels were so high compared with those of others that it made me almost invincible (I added almost in there to feign some humility). Nothing will provide you with more protection than the ability to generate revenue – something that’s done by taking massive action, effectively marketing, staying in front of customers, and getting the job done!
