The Jeff Pulver Blog: Being Paranoid is O.K.

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September 19, 2008

Being Paranoid is O.K.

When I worked on Wall Street, maybe you have experienced this too - a number of my work "friends" were paranoid about losing their jobs even thought they were miserable. Many of our lunch meetings centered on sharing the office gossip which contributed to even more paranoia about the state of our jobs. Ironic as it was, in the end no one who was part of our regular conversations ever made a move on their own out of the company. They moved only when they were fired. Even after seeing some of their friends let go. We were caught up by knowledge of something going on and our collective unconscious and our collective fear of the unknown. And it seems that for a moment in time none of us were risk takers in real life even though we collectively dreamed about what we would do if were free to live our dreams.

During the work day we took risks in the way we solved an IT problem, but when it came to our on lives, we went soft and were risk averse. In real life, we were enjoying the benefits of having a pretty good job and our ability to support our families and we were not about to be the one to put everything on the line. All of this changed for me one day in 1996 when I went to a group IT meeting (with about 125 people), when I looked at the org chart and saw my name was no longer on it. Maybe it was the loud “Oh Sh*t!” that some of the people around me heard me shout. I knew at that moment that everything had changed and a couple of hours later I was on my way home, having been fired for the first time in my life, at a time when I was least ready for it.

(And in an ironic twist of fate, getting fired in 1996 most likely saved my life since I was working on the 104th floor of One World Trade Center. At the time I was left go I had the kind of job that most other people held on to.)

Looking back at my life, I can point to this wake up call as a time in my life that I grew up. This was in many ways a life defining event that helped transform me a step closer to the person I am today.

Tags: Entrepreneurship, leadership, Entrepreneur, Jeff Pulver

Please consider leaving a comment. When exploring opportunities how much weight do you give to your friends and family? How often do you just listen to yourself and ignore everyone else around you? How do you balance your personal crowd sourcing for direction? Please feel free to share an experience.

Posted by jeff on September 19, 2008 08:53 AM | Permalink

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Posted by: cwcewcw at June 5, 2009 04:18 AM

I made my last job change when I was in a *great* work environment -- a great job at a great company with great co-workers

Posted by: online game at February 15, 2009 01:25 AM

Yes, do be paranoid, and then live way below your income level. This way, when/if you do get fired you will have a cushion when land on your rear. Also, living below your income level makes it easier to live the kind of life that comes with freedom of choices.

Posted by: Mimi at September 20, 2008 04:52 PM

Hi Jeff, thanks for your post. I´m writing from Argentina.

In my case, I consider family because I have responsabilities with them, and benefits of moving to another place. But, when you have several years working for different big companies you realize that being there it´s the most risky move because your fate is written by someone else. So, in my case I started a project to be the place I will work for during the last period of my labour-life. It injects me extra energy and some kind of insurance for my future. Depending on results, I could advance or delay my next move.
Regards,
Marcelo.

Posted by: Marcelo at September 19, 2008 02:48 PM

Wonderful post and really hits home for me. While reading this I'm reminded of my own habits, just staying at a place you aren't happy with because of who knows what. For me right now it's out of need, if I left the place I work at right now how would I take care of my kids, but on the other hand, their always saying we'll loose our job's if we can live up to performance and have cut hours so horribly, one wonders if it's worth the stress of staying.

Posted by: pcornqueen at September 19, 2008 09:58 AM

Life is both wonderful... and a hard fact. Besides the elemental fear of not paying the rent or having food for our families, the thought of losing the identity we've taken on as stockbroker,CEO, SVP, special asst to the poobah or whatever-- can be terrifying. In the silent & often painful wake of a business "failure"or job loss, many ask the existential question: "Who am I?". Even the attempt to uncover the answer is life-changing. May all our failures morph into blessings. ( Twitter meryl333 )

Posted by: Meryl S. at September 19, 2008 09:29 AM

A friend always says "the fact that I am paranoid does not mean that they're not there to get me".

Posted by: Guy Tessler at September 19, 2008 09:22 AM

Great post, Jeff! You definitely nailed a fairly common phenomenon. What's interesting is that, by being risk-averse (and not making a proactive move), you increase the risk that you'll wind up going from one job you don't like to another one.

I've watched this happen to me, and I've watched it happen to friends. If you wait until you're fired or laid off, then you've immediately started a timer that is ticking down as to how long you have to find a new job -- how long that timer will run is entirely driven by your personal finances.

If, on the other hand, you look around when you *are* still employed, then you've got a lot more control -- interviews are less stressful, you can really be picky. I made my last job change when I was in a *great* work environment -- a great job at a great company with great co-workers. But, my wife and I decided that, at some point, we'd like to relocate to be closer to her family. I figured there was no better time to try to do that than when I was going to have to walk away from a pretty good situation. That empowered me to turn down several jobs that I might have taken if I "had to find a paycheck" (and I would have told myself that they were great jobs).

The caveat, of course, is that you don't want to "always be looking" -- there is real value in committing to an organization and a job for a sustained period of time.

Posted by: Tim Wilson at September 19, 2008 08:58 AM

September 19, 2008

Being Paranoid is O.K.

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