A big step towards the door...

[Closet_Gamer]

So, I took a big step towards the exit yesterday.

I'm wrapping up an expat assignment and have been in career discussions about what job I will take on when I get home.

A couple weeks ago my boss asked me to think about the "job after the next job." Go one more time in a senior operating role and then I'm in the short line for one of the top 10 jobs in the company, running one of the big divisions.

It is a tempting offer. I've spent a long time creating the opportunity for that exact discussion. And the financial rewards would be significant.

But a "job after the job" implies another 7-10 years and I am quite at peace with my career.

After a lot of discussion with DW and trusted colleagues, I talked with my boss yesterday and pulled my name out consideration for those top jobs. I'm 50 and don't want my next 10 years to be shaped by loads of increasing stress and corporate drama. With DW's recent illness and a history of cancer in my family, I'm also aware that life is not guaranteed.

I would like to get the beach house a little closer to the beach and add an extra layer of padding to the retirement plan, but truthfully I could pull the pin tomorrow and we'd be fine.

I told him that I would like to take on an interesting, non-operating assignment for 1-3 years. If that didn't transpire and we could contrive a "graceful exit" that had me sitting in a beach house writing books 12 months from now, I would be fine with that.

"There is no job after the next job, this is the last job," was a very strange thing to say.

But we're firmly moving towards the exit now.

 

[Ronstar]

Great decision! I like " There is no job after the next job, this is the last job"

 

[pjigar]

Good luck. Stay firm. I will be going through the same dilemma in a few years. I don't know how I will react.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Great decision! I like " There is no job after the next job, this is the last job"

Thanks!

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Good luck. Stay firm. I will be going through the same dilemma in a few years. I don't know how I will react.

Thanks! I am a bit weak in the knees on the decision. After 28 years of climbing the ladder, it feels very strange to be close to the top rung and say "pass."

Actually, a big reason I made & communicated the decision is that my boss is a wonderful person who was preparing to invest significant political capital in lining things up for me. I didn't want him to come back with a prime operating job only to have me turn it down.

Good luck when you get there.

 

[W2R]

Congratulations! Stay firm and see it through as you are planning. The best is yet to come! Retirement is amazing and so much fun.

 

[skyking1]

that's great, and many kudos to you for cultivating what has been a successful relationship with your direct report. It has been said here time and again that the corporate monolith cares not what you do or when you leave, but in your case it sounds a little different. Good on you for heading the boss off from jumping through hoops on your behalf.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Congratulations! Stay firm and see it through as you are planning. The best is yet to come! Retirement is amazing and so much fun.

Thank you. I'm oscillating between "Wait! I take that back" and wanting to nail the exact role & exit plan.

The latter will prevail.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

that's great, and many kudos to you for cultivating what has been a successful relationship with your direct report. It has been said here time and again that the corporate monolith cares not what you do or when you leave, but in your case it sounds a little different. Good on you for heading the boss off from jumping through hoops on your behalf.

Thanks. I've been super fortunate with leaders I've worked with over the years. Its really shocking the number of high quality bosses I've had, both in the professional acumen and their character.

My boss and I have spent 16 years building a business together inside of this even larger company. We haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but we've always had one another's back. He's a great person on every level. When he retires the company should get a statue of him and stick it in front of the building.

 

[HealthyFuture]

ClosetGamer, congratulations. It’s a really tough thing to decide to end something that is going really well. I think it takes courage, too. I look forward to hearing how the coming 1-3 years go and your transition.

 

[HealthyFuture]

P.S. My hat also is off to you for building the type of relationship you’ve built with your supervisor that you both can be so transparent, and look out for each others’ best interests.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

ClosetGamer, congratulations. It’s a really tough thing to decide to end something that is going really well. I think it takes courage, too. I look forward to hearing how the coming 1-3 years go and your transition.

P.S. My hat also is off to you for building the type of relationship you’ve built with your supervisor that you both can be so transparent, and look out for each others’ best interests.

Thanks.

Easier to do with a supportive spouse and a great boss, respectively.

 

[Koolau]

Good for you, Closet_Gamer!

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, Baby!

Now you'll be able to game right out in the open whenever you like -

 

[ERD50]

... I am a bit weak in the knees on the decision. After 28 years of climbing the ladder, it feels very strange to be close to the top rung and say "pass."
....

Look at it this way - you invested a lot of blood, sweat, and tears for 28 years of climbing the ladder. You did it to put yourself in a position of strength.

And now, you are there. So you have obtained the strong position to do what you want to do.

... I'm 50 and don't want my next 10 years to be shaped by loads of increasing stress and corporate drama. With DW's recent illness and a history of cancer in my family, I'm also aware that life is not guaranteed. ...

...truthfully I could pull the pin tomorrow and we'd be fine.

Sounds like what you want to do (and can do) is to retire. I think you should do it. Why not?

-ERD50

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Good for you, Closet_Gamer!

Thanks!

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Yeah, Baby!

Now you'll be able to game right out in the open whenever you like -

LOL. My kids think that username is hilarious.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Sounds like what you want to do (and can do) is to retire. I think you should do it. Why not?

-ERD50

Trying to finesse a well paid exit to get put a few more feathers in the nest and get the beach house a litte closer to the beach.

But if for some reason things get strange, I will just pull the pin.

 

[pacergal]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Keep moving forward--retirement is wonderful!

 

[cyber888]

Good way to exit Congrats.

 

[Yoheadden]

Congrats, I know that first step is a big one. It also says a lot about your character and the working relationship you have with your boss.

We know the surreal and scary feelings you’re going through. While not in “Big Business” we decided 2024 will be the year we will shut our 47year(at that point) family business. So 1 more buying season for next spring. Yikes.

After that, the world will be ours, as it will be yours

Hey, we can join the same alliance and be full time gamers ;-)

 

[oiseux]

Congratulations, I admire your courage in taking that next step! I'm still accepting talk about career progressions (in my case, about immediate next steps to VP).

 

[gamboolman]

Congrats Closet_Gamer !

Life is short - things happen... If you can support your desired lifestyle then go go go !

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

Congratulations on your decision!
I likened that first step to jumping off a cliff. That’s what it felt like to me. Once I gave official notice there was no going back.
But I did it the end of 2021 and so far so good.

Now you can stay up half the night gaming because you won’t have to get up at a certain time!