Don't burn your Bridges

You meet some of the same people going up as you do going down.

 

Storyline: (.. applies to all ages, but great for the young and the restless.)

Once upon a time, there was a young fellow named Andy who graduated with high credentials and got a job within a respected company. Bright that he was, he started doing good work and received numerous recognitions. His group also had a very good manager named Joe Z, whom everyone liked and respected immensely.

As often happens in industry, such managers move on to do bigger and better things, and Joe Z got promoted. The company brought in a replacement manager from outside, who had a very crude and rough style in dealing with people.

Not happy with the new manager, Andy found multiple job offers outside and handed in his resignation. Joe Z, his old manager who was now the Director, told him how much he respected his talent and needed his further contributions. Joe requested that Andy be patient for a while and stay on.

Young and restless that he was, Andy declined. Joe advised him "It is not good to leave in anger. I advise that you don't burn your bridges". This young and yet immature fellow replied, "I don't burn bridges, I bomb them" (no traces left behind).  He left angrily anyway.

As fate would have it, eight years later, during an economic downturn, Andy badly needed a contract for a consulting business he had established after a few years of working. Andy bid for one contract where his proposal was selected for the final stages of the contract approval cycle - the presentation to the top management of the client company.

He was waiting in the conference room for the top management people to arrive, and as soon as Andy saw the first person to walk in, drops of perspiration started flowing all over his face. That person was Joe Z, his old boss, who had moved to this new company several years ago. Andy saw all his dreams of winning the contract evaporating.

Surprisingly, Joe Z approached him and gave him a hug. Smiling, Joe said to him "Don't worry. I had done very similar thing in my early career as you did with me. But I know that you know that you have learned  a very valuable lesson in life today. Go ahead and Break a Leg (make a great presentation)"

Relieved, Andy did well in his presentation and got the contract.

 

Reflection:

Going through ups and downs, and at times dealing with seemingly unreasonable situations, is all part of growing up - and no one has been spared from those agonies. What differentiates a pro from an amateur is how one responds to variety of situations and conquers them with a great attitude. Especially since understanding and compassionate people like Joe Z are so rare.

Comments

....leaving with anger is not a right thing, but i don't see the bad impact from Andy...how to link them together?

[Neil]

Looks like "Andy" was lucky in this case. There are also many high-up business people who are fantastic at holding a grudge and would have never forgiven him.

If you're a Pro, you'll know that most industries are small. Word spreads. People move. You can have a reputation as an arrogant jerk, or a reputation as a great person to work with. The beauty of it is, that choice is up to you.

[TQ]

This story is very good. We saw this happen in our company in 1999. We had a recent college graduate, a smart gal, who worked in our IS department and supporeted our business unit. During the height of internet boom, she got an offer that paid her 50% more than what we could pay and a lot more than many of our long term employees.
She was ecastic about the offer and started bragging about it in the company. I advised her to keep quite and leave on good terms. She did not listen and embarassed her supevisor before leaving, shared her new offer freely and after leaving encouraged our employees to join her company.

A year a quarter later, she got laid off from her new company. She called me for help to get back in our company. Unfortuantley she had left no bridge to return.

[Valerie Lee]

Thank you sharing with me your wisdom of thoughts. It is inspiring and I shared it with my HR team.

[KW]

The point is "don't express your anger when you leave".