BURN THE SHIPS - Jason Tierney

IT’S TIME TO BURN THE SHIPS!

After weeks of griping and complaining to my wife, she cut me off and plainly stated, “You either need to do something about it, or you lose the right to bitch about it.”

“You don’t understand. I have a vital role in the company’s success. People are depending on me”, I shot back across the bow.

“Either stop complaining or quit the job. Burn the ships”, she replied with even less emotion than her previous statement.

“I have a real job with real responsibility. You don’t get it”, I wailed.

“Burn the ships. I’m going to bed.” And just like that, she was gone. Leaving me to argue with her alone.

After spending a couple weeks ruminating and resenting and playing out every possible scenario, I decided it was time to set fire to the sails and march inland. I scheduled a meeting with the owner a couple weeks out. And made a tattoo appointment in New Orleans for the following week. I was going to get a huge burning ship to commemorate this bold change in my life’s plan.

TIME TO GET READY FOR TRANSITION

On Monday, I sat across from the owner and drily informed her that the time had come for me to move onto other career opportunities, that I’d enjoyed working together, and would provide them with 6 months notice.

She began crying and offered all the concessions she’d previously declined. A raise, equity, and pretty much anything else I could’ve wanted. Why did it take this conversation for her to offer what was right all along? “We can’t do this without you”, she said through quivering lips.

Suddenly I felt like I was peeking at both options of one of those OG Choose Your Own Adventure books.

TURN TO PAGE 25 IF YOU ACCEPT HER OVERTURE:

The future would be certain. No worries about how I’d earn money or how to fund my own IRA. In a nanosecond, I could see another 5 years of 60 hour weeks working with a leadership team that personified the Peter Principle and a team of direct reports that were perpetually on the verge of mutiny. The devil you know…

TURN TO PAGE 69 TO DECLINE THE OFFER:

I have a moment of clarity, one that leaves no room for doubt. If I say yes to her offer, I’ll have this big stupid tattoo on my leg that will have no meaning whatsoever.

I leaned forward and told her we needed to get busy working on a transition plan.

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