“I GOT FIRED”

“I GOT FIRED”, the most dreaded words.

A bright, 40-ish, never-say-die kind of man visited me for a consultation last year. His world had just been shattered. A man with a home mortgaged to a bank, 2 lovely little girls – 8 and 4 years old, a wife, with a beautiful soul who chose to be a homemaker to nurture and rear the children. So, what went wrong? In the times we live in, many things can break us.

HE HAD LOST HIS JOB.

Yes, a dynamic employee aligned to the goals of his company with high integrity. A colleague who had a vision for his team and inspired them like a co-worker, not just a leader. His clients loved him for the ease he brought into their lives by being a solution to their problems. They reached out to him for a myriad things not just the service his company provided. “Do you know a good place to buy a tabla and a tabla teacher for my kid?”. “Can you help in recommending a good physio?”. “Which movie do you suggest I go with my friends this weekend?” And, so on. On the heels of a coveted assignment, where he was lauded for his work a few months earlier by his management, he was handed the pink slip. The allegations were untrue and it crumbled his world. That was it!

The weeks ensuing this verdict, he did his utmost to complete his notice period earnestly. But, that was not to be. He was treated like an outsider within moments. The very colleagues he had a cameradarie and great working relationship with, began to snub him. He was no longer invited for any meetings, even where his inputs were critical. Sensing the environment, his subordinates were uncomfortable and awkward in his presence. Everything was telling him, “Buddy, just get out of here!. You aren’t needed, anymore!”. The most painful realisation was the support staff looking at him with pity and sadness.

He walked away, finally. There was bitterness, pain, hurt, anger, disappointment. To be treated this way after 10 years of co-partnering the company’s growth.

Yes, some face it harder. Why do companies do this? Why do people do this? Couldn’t the exit have been more graceful? More compassionate? More humane?

Well, he went through this trial and tribulation with great difficulty. His family was there standing behind to guide, support and encourage him. His friend list shrunk. But, those who truly cared, stood by him. I guided and empowered him to restore his faith in his own abilities.

Today, he has a start-up firm in PR of his own. When I asked him, “How does it all feel rising back like the Phoenix?”.

His response to me was ” Farzana, Victory is what greets you when a loss hits you deep within. My only prayer is, I’d like to conduct my company with the humaneness I never saw for me”

I was overwhelmed, seeing it as my own victory. So, you may have fallen but He has your back.

God bless and God speed!

Love and light for the week ahead and a wonderful Sunday!



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