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Corporate Mercenary
Twenty some odd years, countless hours of work, millions of logged miles for business trips and my father is slowly being pushed out of the company he’s worked for for as long as I can remember. He along with several other people who are a “high cost” to the company are facing unreasonably daunting tasks and uncharacteristically cold attitudes from upper management. It’s a new occurrence seeing that this company has repeatedly taken care of my father and the rest of us. It’s a “family-based” company, a Fortune 500 blue chip with a brand image that’s spotless, warm and traditional. You’d never think they were subtly piling up on argument on why my father should be fired or worse yet, subversively forcing him to quit. I can’t fully put into words the grief and anxiety my father has about the situation. However if there is one thing that is positive about this whole situation, it’s that my father finally understands why I act like a mercenary when it comes to my current company. It’s also fortified my want to have my own business.
Don’t get me wrong, my dad has always encouraged me to eventually own my own company, but we would butt heads when it came to my career path. His generation was comprised of people who had the attitude that you worked for the same company, worked your way up the ladder and retired with them. It was “our” company. Not “them”. Most people in my generation don’t want that or can even fathom that lifestyle. There are more entrepreneurs and people carving their own career paths than ever. And the people that don’t branch out on their own only work for companies for 2-4 year spans at a time. Jumping around as they climb towards that glass ceiling. It’s a different lifestyle and a different way to get to the top than my father couldn’t grasp before, but something he fully understands now. When things first started to take a turn for the worse he said to me that I need to do what’s best for me because, “the company was here before you got here and they’ll be around after you die.”
I see that same attitude with my current coworkers. After saying goodbye to a lot of close friends, having our pay cut and then being bombarded with more work since there were less people, there are more people than ever looking to leave. Actually, let me correct that. They’re not just looking. They’re leaving. I went to a different goodbye party every week in March. My email inbox has been flooded with “keep in touch” and “take care” messages. Shoot, the unofficial Golden Boy of my company is now leaving for greener pastures. And every few days someone rolls into my office with a different story of who’s contacted them, what their headhunter said and who they have interviews with. Folks are no longer willing to stick it out and take one for the team. I know I’m not.
The amazing thing is, it’s more than just moving to another company. I’ve recently realized that I won’t be content working for someone else. Even now, the prospect of a new job doesn’t enthrall or motivate me. It would be another job. I’d be working for someone else as they make money off my ideas and creativity. Again. I don’t want to strive for middle management. Hoping for a promotion which will now only put me thirty steps away from being the man in charge. Only then having to wait another few years to take another baby step. And ultimately, I’d end up in the same position as my father. With the fear that at any moment it could all be removed.
I’m not sure if this is a blog post or a stake in the ground. A rant or a motivational piece to look back on. A tale of a father’s hard work that’s unrequited or his son’s realization that he won’t strive just to line Corporate America’s pockets. Either way, it feels like the beginning of something. Something that will come into fruition within my father’s lifetime. Something he too can hold onto and feel like he helped to create. Because he has, more than he will ever imagine.
Seattle – My Mind Is Racing & My Guns Are Blazing - Washington
What about you? Do you know someone who shares still hold the old ideal of “working hard for their company” close to their heart? Do you have a budding entrepreneurial spirit? Or do you feel the need to climb the Corporate Ladder? I’d like to hear all the sides of the story.
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its sad what is happening to your dad. corporate america is not somewhere where i could see myself. can’t deal with all the politics involved.
even tho i currently work in the sciences i do eventually want to own my own business. i want to open an upscale sports bar eventually. something similar to stats in atlanta. i just can’t see myself making money for someone else for the rest of my life.
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Sheesh! Things like this really grinds my gears. And you’re right bout the generational shift in outlook towards work. I know someone my age who’s been with her company for six years and I’m like WHOA! Who has THAT much attention span?
Oddly enough, I never gave much thought to having my own business. Always just assumed that I’d work at upper management for some company. However, life has me in a different path all of a sudden. I’ve founded my own nonprofit org (The Red Pump Project) and started a social media consulting business. Who’da thunk it?
I still have a 9-5 though, but I’m picking up management skills that’ll allow those 2 above to be successful.
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I don’t think it’s anyone’s desire to work hard just to put money in another man’s pocket. Sometimes circumstances just don’t allow for more. I definitely hope to run my own business someday in the near future, I’m just not sure what I want that business to be quite yet.
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yea im seein dat now. pops been in the same company for bout 30 years, mama ben on & off alot for da last 15 yrs. one thang dey stress me is 2 get a job & work (yea im 20 aint had no job but far from a broke deadbeat) so i tell them i dnt like workin under nobody & i like doin thangs my own time; my own way. dey say im trippin but my view is this, i dnt wana be age 50+ still gettn up complainin bout work every day lik dey do. i like to sleep & get up wen i wana GOTD4MIT (eat, sh1t & fuc* too). so i gotta run my own shit. but the system is set up so you gotta work no matta wat.
thank abt it, first they say you cant get a decent job without college so then you get loans for school. afterwards, you mite not be able to pay that back til bout a decade or 2 so all them years workn goes to nun (yet u cuda stack all dat up & bout that nice hous dwn the street for $30,000). then you got them car “loans” (i swerve ol skool…t-top ss so non of that 4 me) & housing too. its kinda sad wen you hear people 30,40,50+ working to still pay off loans yet chances are that money they cuda used to start a business goes straight to loan payment. try asking a teacher/professor or anybody around 40 how much dept they in or what are they still “paying off” & wat they owe…then its sad when people careers goes exactly away from what they spent time & money on in colege (wich they cuda used wiser) to settle for a “ends meet” career.
—i can go 4 days
from:
shawty round da corna aka colege cant teach me nun mor than if i had the rite books aka 4 years $15,000+ for colege, please i gota smarter alternative that wont waste my life aka i put my money on a job; money is my employee aka its hard enouf to die without a dept, so who’s idea was it to tell mid life ppl 2 go bk 2 school wit loans?!? ha
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I HIGHLY suggest that you, your dad AND everyone reading this post pick up a copy of Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” (that is if you haven’t already) because it’ll most definitely open your eyes. I’ve been unemployed for 10 months but I’m steadily gaining more and more momentum towards becoming my own boss as opposed to helping someone else fulfill their own dreams.
Today I only apply for jobs so that I can build more capital to further propel my business endeavors as opposed to seeking any upper management ladder climbing bull-ish. And after losing my job I was quickly snapped out of the fallacy of “job security”….unfortunately it DOES NOT exist…no matter what they tell you. Don’t believe the hype. Eff that…wealth is not build by working harder, it’s built by working smarter.
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Seattle Washington Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Damn good book and you’re right, it teaches a lot of lessons about working hard vs. smart. Read that my senior year and I think it messed me up for any gig I had thereafter.
As good as that book is though, I still prefer “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.
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Nick_L_Odeon Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 10:58 am
thank you for the suggestion.. gonna hit up the library when i leave this place.. yes, people still check out the library.. (that was the next question, i know.)
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Anonymous Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 11:27 am
For Nick_L_Odeon (and anyone else who’s interested in the book)
“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill (e-book)
http://www.soilandhealth.org/03sov/0304spiritpsych/030413.Hill.Think.and.Grow.Rich.pdf
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Nick_L_Odeon Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 11:53 am
SAY WORD!!!!! thank you.. THANK YOU!!! you should see the face i’m makin over here.. but THAT’S what’s hot in the streets!!!
ironically, i gotta have my mom print it, because my job is on it’s last ream o paper.. #soprofessional..
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Sweetness Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Thank you Anonymous for the link! Much appreciated!!
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I can imagine that it’s tough watching a parent go through something like that. The thing with any business or office is that they are going to do what is in their best interests, so if they no longer need you, they are done with you. They really don’t care about anything else, their focus is and will always been their business, company, office, etc.
Both of my parents are small business owners, so I have always assumed that I would have my own business. However, fear has prevented me from doing so because I’ve seen first hand how difficult it can be. But, I know how rewarding it can be to put work into something that is all yours. I’ve always been encouraged to only work for others in order to gain experience and knowledge that I can use for my own business. So I’m like a sponge and take note of everything from business practices and management styles to negotiation skills . I even take note of things that do not work and why. I also keep contacts with people who I believe will be able to help me with my business or who I will be able to partner with. My current position is a two- year position that will likely become permanent, but I don’t want to stay there at all. I’ve been there for 7 months, so in my personal timeline I have about a year to have my business up and running. So far I have a lot of things in the making so it looks like I may reach my goal before then.
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Seattle Washington Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 11:58 am
It’s good that you have that background and are familiar with the work and common practices associated with owning your own business. A lot of people would love to have that, me included. Haha.
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My mom has has 2 jobs (one career path) my whole life and I’ll be 31 in a couple of weeks. I don’t see myself going down the same path. I’m on my 2nd career path and by the end of the year will be on the 3rd (and hopefully final)path. I never saw myself at one place forever, there’s too much that I want to do and with so much information out there, there is no reason to settle if you don’t want to/have to.
I think I get my wanderlust from my daddy. He had so many skills technical and corporate; one day (figuratively) he’d be on a construction site swinging a hammer, next day he’s in a full suit and tie behind a desk and conducting meetings.
I do want stability but I don’t see myself in an office all my life.
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Even if it took such a terrible circumstance to do so, it’s great that people are finally beginning to see that Gen Y isn’t being fickle for no reason (although at times, we do take ‘fickle’ to another level). I personally believe that people aren’t meant to be working in huge corporations. Of course not everyone needs or wants to be a business owner, but this huge company thing is a relatively new, and hopefully dying, trend in the human history.
I can totally relate to you Seattle, and my parents also think I’m off my rocker for not wanting to follow that straight-arrow path they’re so used to. I have no interest in climbing up anybody’s ladder but my own.
I also agree with poster Nik above that security is an illusion and is never guaranteed. It’s not a bad thing, IMO, if you’re always able to adapt. We’ve just fooled ourselves into think it was there in the first place.
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Seattle Washington Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I believe the recession/depression was a big wake up call to a lot of people that nothing is guaranteed. Especially a job. I’ve seen a lot of people’s perspectives shift when it comes to their job. It’s not a bad thing at all, if we learn from it.
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Tacoma,
A wise man you and I both know gave me some pretty brolic advice once upon a time when I found myself having to make a decision on a career:
“If it was the other way around, the company would dump you in a second. Go on and get ya paper, son.”
Ever since then I been treating jobs like a weed spot…get in, get what I need, then bounce. Lucky for me, in my line of work, people either think you’re crazy for sticking around for more than 5 years, or you actually have no choice but to look for a job every other November.
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Seattle Washington Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
I think I know who you’re talking about and that’s a gem. I’ve definitely looked at jobs like grad schools, just trying to learn as much as I can until I can do my own thing. When I stop learning is when I leave.
I’m going on 4 years here, 3 in my current position and folks are waiting on when I’m going to bounce. It’s almost unheard of that you stay with a company for more than 5 years nowadays. Unless you’re really higher up.
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Like you my father could not see him self within a company, making money for others his entire life. My father is very headstrong (i.e. hard headed aries man) and he was the top sales person within his original corporate company. But he clearly saw the politics and knew that no matter how hard he worked his piece of the pie would never suffice or bear his true worth. Therefore he left completely back in the early 90′s and began his own own company and never looked back. Although his business partner, whom he worked with within the corporate world, valued his security too much to ever leave the company. (Business partners ar a whole other story).
I have had this role model throughout my life showing me within business its okay to take the risk and its even better to be your own boss, make your own hours, and truly enjoy the fruits of your labor whenever you see fit. So yes I will be my own boss as well…eventually.
At this moment in my life as a recent college graduate in a bad economy I am just trying to get in where I fit and kind of explore and see what I want to do truly and where I want to be. So I am looking to get a foot in the corporate world, but no, I do not want to stay there my entire life. I often question if I even have the stomach for it sometimes knowing my personality and seeing as how I don’t endure anything I don’t like not even for the sake of money.
At this point as I look towards my future I want to run my own company but its definitely going to be in something I enjoy and I consider fun. The only thing I’m afraid of with that is not loving what I originally did dut to the fact I turned it into a business and not just kept it as a passion.
I always say, “The American dream is finding something we love and exploiting it.”
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I’m a mix of thangs when it comes to this stuff. I really want to strike a balance between working for a company that allows me to utilize all my talents as opposed to just 1 or 2, but also having the time to do my own thing outside of work. As I’ve said before, if I could do writing/blogging full-time and get paid a decent amount, I’d be there already. Unfortunately, it’s not realistic at this time. Good Post sir.
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Smiley Face Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 10:59 am
Co-sign…that’s why so many folks have side hustles. They work for the benefits 9-5 and in their off time they work for themselves doing what they love until it all can come together.
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Nick_L_Odeon Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 11:42 am
i think the same way.. i have dreams of my writing making me money.. travelling the world on a book tour, speaking at college campuses.. but right now, that’s just not happening.. d*mn..
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My uncle worked for the same company his entire life. And while holding down this job, he was able to purchase a few houses, and lease them to various families in the community. Now that he is retired, he can be a fulltime landlord, and fully enjoy the large pension he acquired from his company. Companies don’s this anymore, so it’s best to find a place that pays you well, and gives enough free time to pursue your other goals.
For most young people, we are more for living in the moment than thinking long term stability. At what point do you settle into a stability and financial security? I have definite plans to open a full service black hair care salon and spa. So, I work my current 8:30 to 5:30+ some weekends, and I do a little hair on the side. I probably won’t be at this firm forever, and I might even go back to school. But once I get to a place where I am comfortable doing my job, and I am able to use my talents to their full potential, I have every intention of staying there, amassing the financial security that will allow me to open the first ever “The Naturaly Way Salon and Spa”.
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mudrabbit Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
i got sumn datl top dat
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Sadly, I don’t have an entrepreneurial bone in my body. I don’t want to start my own magazine, newspaper, public relations company or the like. I don’t want to climb the corporate ladder either if I join the dark side and go into PR. This is causing countless hours of grief for my family.
The corporate world is just not for me. I definitely have ambitions as a writer, but not otherwise. Being a reporter is like being in an abusive relationship. You know it’s not good for you, but you just can’t leave. Ultimately, writing is what makes me happy.
If I was in a different field, I’d probably seek longevity at one location. My industry is ever evolving, so I’m ready to bounce when opportunity arises. Maybe if I get married and settle down that will change.
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your post was written like poetry.. (i’m weird, i know)..
but i WILL say that this struck a chord with me.. my mom has worked at her office since i was 5 (i’m 31 now) and i’ve seen the look on her face when the company merged, and they were laying off several people, many close to her in her own department…
i knew for a long time that i can’t work for anyone.. not that i’m difficult, but i have hardly come across a company that utilizes my talents to where i feel fulfilled at the end of the day..
maybe that’s for the best, cuz when people get credit for an idea that was mine, i get pissed..
throw your stake in the ground..
i’m sorry that your father has to be going through what he is.. especially considering that loyalty is so underrated when it comes to corporate america.. and i keep thinking that if i just show them that i’m loyal, that it’ll mean something… that’s not the case anymore, which is so sad to realize..
i’m taking it as a motivational piece.. every now and then we need something to happen to snap us back into reality and make us either get upset, think radically, or dare to dream..
thank you seattle.. go and get yours..
thank you for following me too.. i feel all special n shyt..
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Seattle Washington Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Wow. Thanks. If I could blush, I would be doing it right now.
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my first job out of college i worked for a company that my dad worked for too, and as I ended my time with them there were rumors of re structuring and lay offs. I remember goign to lunch with my dad and the president of the (now defunct) company and he was laying it on pretty thick to my dad, “what are you going to do, they might do away with your job” so on and so forth. Finally my father’s patience wore and he turned to this middle aged 2520 guy and said something along the lines “you seem to forget that when I started here, I was the janitor and bus driver, now my office is down the hall from yours; before I came to this country I was a corporate accountant and I left everything to come to your country and re earn my HS degree and start all over from the bottom and now I sit at the same table as you and you are buying me lunch. I will be ok, because I know how to use all of the skills I have obtained through all of the experiences I have had, unlike you, you dont know what it is to take a cut in pay, or sacrifice or make ends meet without a rope”
Needless to say I was floored but that afternoon I learned a valuable lesson or a couple actually. First, everything you do is marketable. Second, my father had made himself expendable because of a vast general amount of knowledge he has (ultimately the company found him another position and even when they were bought out he remained with the new firm). Though he specializes in one or two things, he knows how everything in his office runs, from the copier to the filing system, to the complicated phone system, and last he has never hesitated to roll up his sleeves to do grunt work or work that he felt was beneath him. (At one job, he went dumpster diving for parts that had mistakenly been thrown out; these pc boards would become the cloaking system used in stealth bombers, thus saving my father’s company from loosing a very important military contract)
Anyway Im sorry to hear about your dad and what those company’s are doing to people like him, but we must remember its work/a job, unless you are working with family in your own business they aren’t in business for you.
Last point. The first thing I do at any job I get is update my resume, learned that from a former supervisor. You never know what could happen, or what may come up, so always be prepared.
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Seattle Washington Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Your father is a G. Hands down. I’ve heard and delivered a lot of retorts to execs, but that’s definitely top 5. Priceless.
And yes, it’s all about versatility and worth. Sure the company could do without your father, but as evidenced they’d much rather not because of all the experience he has. Good luck to him and you.
My old supervisor had a similar attitude. Except she told me to not bring anymore stuff into the office than you can put in a shopping bag. Never know…
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What a brilliantly written post. I wish you the absolute best in your endeavors, Mr. Washington.
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Seattle Washington Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Thank you very much.
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Best advice I ever got:
“Be loyal to your career, not your job”
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Toni Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
word!
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CHeeKZ Money Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Well said my freind.
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Well this very thing actually did happen to my dad. He was with a company started by his then best friend for over 25 years. He was with the company from scratch and help develop it into a million dollar company. However, I do think the saying is true that when people come into money, they change. And in this case, I believe that is what happened with his boss/best friend. He became more distant w/ my dad and was sneaking around trying to find a way to fire him. It was sad that he couldn’t have approached him like a man and tell him he didn’t need him anymore. Instead, he went through my dad things and made up a “conflict of interest” excuse for the reason why he fired him. It was agonizing to see my dad hurt over this, but everything happens for a reason. We didn’t see it then, but his firing was a good thing. He’s in the best shape of his life now, he has a new occupation that he loves, and is stress free.
Now with my particular profession, I don’t see myself ever running my own business because thats not who I am. I have no interest in that whatsoever. But I do plan to work my way to the top because that’s the only way it works in my profession.
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I have a problem. I don’t love this Bank, but I do love my bosses. They have convinces me that if they could pay me more money they would and they really like. So despite the fact that a million positions open up I never apply for them. I tend to stay in positions a year too long. Company rule is that you can move to another job after 6 months, and in most cases they would waive this rule. But not CHeeKZ, I stay here.
As for the differences between generations and our outlook on life. My company has this learning tool, online classes that help workers gain better office skills. One of the classes is on working with different generations. It tries to teach mangaers to approach employees differently depending on their age b/c our outlook on work varies. I’ll give the highlights:
Mature Workers: Before WWII Teamwork. Sacrifice. Loyalty. Mechanically savvy.
Baby Boomers: Idealism. Self-improvement. High Expectations. Associate with hippes and free love.
Generation X: Me first. Conservative. Entrepreneurial. Apprecatiation for work-life balance. Fast Wood and the War on drugs. First generation of latch-key kids, and watch their parents have to reinvent themselves after losing thier jobs overseas. Influenced by the mass media and first generation to not be as successful as their parents
Generation Y: Cell phones. type fasters than they write. Live Online. Casual dress code in the office. Hip Hop, Ritalin and Reality TV. Compartmentalize work and life. Multi-task Well. Optimism.
Are they right about us Y and Xers? And our parents?
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Seattle Washington Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
My dude, eff all that. You need to do you. I know your level of talent and your pedigree. There’s no reason you should limit yourself because some people like you and wish they could pay you more. If they really liked you, they’d find the money. There’s always that stash.
As far as your breakdown of the generations goes, I think it’s spot on. I’ve noticed that myself. We’re also called the “Trophy Kid” generation. We crave feedback.
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nice post.
I definitely understand the principle of wanting your own business. Both of my parents have professions that can either meaning working for themselves or working for someone else and while there is not security for working for someone else there isn’t always security working for yourself either. I’ve watch my parents become hybrids so they don’t have to depend on just one type of job.
Unfortunately for me I’m trying to go into a field that doesn’t have room for entrepreneurs (government law hybrid) so I’m stuck working for the man. Which surprisingly doesn’t bother me.
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