Billy Keels  0:00  

I've said it once and I've said it again. Every corporate relationship ends. So when you start seeing tech giants like Meta, Oracle shed their skin to survive, they're proving the point that the corporate machine is just an organism. It's just trying to stay alive and survive. That's all it's about. And so in this episode, I'm going to share the unpopular truth about tech layoffs, and I'm going to give you the exact three-step formula that you need to make your role optional, so that you are completely bulletproof. Yes, I did say it. No matter what side of the equation you're on, so let's get in and let's get you to optionality. Today's episode is sponsored by Billy Keels Advisory Services. If you want to learn more about how to make your 99 optional, just go to makeitoptional.com. Once again, that's makeitoptional.com.

Speaker 1  0:48  

Helping you build freedom without losing your edge. This is the Going Long podcast with Billy Keels.

Billy Keels  1:01  

Before we even get started today, I have to just let you know right from the very beginning, it's possible that you could be triggered by what you're going to hear in today's episode because it is very much an unpopular opinion, especially when you look around and you know we've had so many different large multinational organizations begin to reduce their workforce. You know, it was recently in the news not long ago. Meta, right, the famous the the head company of Facebook laid off 10% of its workforce, 8000 people. There's still the famous four a.m. email that came from Oracle that laid off some other 30,000 people, and maybe it was 6o'clock in the morning. Doesn't matter. But the whole point is, especially if you are in the enterprise software space, a place that has traditionally been known for growth, for security, for high payments, high salaries, great benefits. When I'm getting ready to share in this episode, it yeah, it could make you a little bit uncomfortable, not happy because the opinion that I'm going to share with you, it's very unpopular. As I talked about going to these types of companies, this type of industry, it's one that I absolutely adored and still adore today. Why? Because I invested 26 years of my life in enterprise in the enterprise IT space, five and 10 in the hardware side, and another 1617, in the software side. Amazing place, loved it, and still love that space. I just see it from a different lens, because yes, as you're going out and you're wanting to to build a career, and there's amazing opportunities there, and you want to make a lot of money, and yes, there's still opportunities there, and you want to have security. Let me move on from that point. Let's let's talk about it because security really depends on how you perceive it. That's not the reason for today's conversation, but what I do, as I mentioned, all those other things. At the end of the day, usually you want to build your skills, you want to master a skill set, and then have those skill sets be able to help you fund your dream or stay secure. Right, that word that I kind of stopped on earlier. I stopped on it for a reason because the more that you go, the more that you put in your, let's say, 7080, hours a week, and I know I did an episode on this not long ago. I think it was 640-four where I talk about that. That's a part of what you realize it just keeps going on. You keep doing more and more of those hours. You keep doing more planes. You keep doing more trains. You keep doing more automobiles, and now even working from behind your desk all day long, you start to realize that the life that you're building is completely wrapped up in the role. the the The life that you're building is becoming the identity as that is a part of you, or are you a part of the identity that you've created from the work that you're doing in these industries? Which is, like I said, I invested 21 years of my life in this industry, and I really liked it a lot. Chances are, probably still be in it if some other life situations didn't happen that had nothing to do with how it was working, how it was enjoyed. Had to do with health of someone that I love, but the thing is, is all of this wonderful stuff, and this is the part that maybe is going to start to get a little bit unpopular because, in terms of my opinion and what I believe, is when you start to look around and you're seeing these colleagues, like I talked about, the 8000 that get laid off, the 30,000 that get off, laid off, the 300 plus 1000 that been laid off in over the last year and a half or so, you start to realize that all of those answering emails at the early hours of the morning and the late hours of the night, or all of these crazy hours that you are traveling and you're doing all of this stuff, you realize that. You could be next. Let me say it again. You realize that you could be next, and in reality, there's not an issue if you are next.

Billy Keels  5:13  

The question is, are you prepared one way or the other? I've mentioned this 1000s of times, and even all over my LinkedIn. And if you're a part of my newsletter, same thing. Every corporate relationship ends. The question is, are you prepared when it does? What side of the equation are you on? Because the thing that you have to understand, and this is the thing that is very, very unpopular. Every corporate organism is exactly that. It is an organism. It must stay alive. It has to do the things that it needs to do to preserve its life. And so, for anyone who doesn't understand that, I need to say it again. It has to do whatever it has to do to preserve its life and its well-being, the organism, the multinational. When you start to look at it in that perspective, if you take yourself out of the equation, then it's a bit more understandable. I'm not saying that it's easy to digest. I'm just saying it's a reality, like it or not. The big multinational organization that has to do the things that it has to do to survive. Once you understand that, and you understand what side of the equation you're on, well, then that you know everything else after that, it just becomes a part of decisions that you make, the way that you choose to live your life, design your lifestyle, etc. etc. etc. etc. But you know the thing that you want to be able to do in this reality of every multinational is an organism, and if you are in the enterprise software space, or you are in a leading entertainment company, or you are in pharma, or you are in telco, it's just the reality. It's are you prepared, and it's really simple to be prepared. Meaning that either way of the that side of the equation that you're on, it doesn't matter because you're prepared. If you get a promotion and you have to leave, or if you get an opportunity outside of the organization and you have to leave, guess what? The organism, the multinational, it has to stay alive because you've decided to leave. Or what about the other side of the organ of the equation that the multinational? It's carrying too much weight. It's got to be a little bit lighter because it can't breathe. It's taking too much for the heart to pump. So it's got to shed some of that skin, which means 8000 jobs, 30,000 jobs, 300 plus 1000 jobs over a certain amount of time. It's doing what it has to do to stay alive. The great news is, all you need to do is be prepared. It's three simple steps for you to be prepared, and that means that you're on the pathway to optionality, meaning that you're going to your job, your role, because you want to, not because you have to. It's about recognizing that yes, you're crystal clear on what it is that you want to do, why you want to do it. You're integrating the career that you want to continue to excel at, and every single day that you are able to stay in that role, you are excelling. You are there not to just do the the the average you are a high performer, you only know how to excel. The question is, are you doing that because you're putting in so many extra hours, or are you actually optimizing the number of outputs that you are producing for the machine that needs to be fed? And then lastly, this is about being prepared. Are you in control of your time, and are you able to predict the income that is going to be coming into your house because you are doing it, not because the single paycheck in the benefits package is doing it for you. And yeah, the stocks are floating up and down. Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down, but you can't predict it. That's the question. That's how you're you're prepared. Now, when you get into this moment of preparedness, or you start to move towards that optionality, is it easy? No, you're going to feel torn. I can tell you right now, you're going to feel torn because you're doing things in a different way. But what you have to look at is the result. Are you continuing to excel doing it in a different way?

Billy Keels  9:18  

Yes, you're going to feel uncomfortable because if you've been used to going to school every single day, going on the exact same streets, sometimes you will change the streets. You will get there in a generally the same amount of time or less, making less turns. But you're still going to get to school safely. You can still get there early. That's overachievement, by the way. The question is: Do you need to get to school 30 minutes early, or will 20 minutes do? Because you're still there early, you're still overachieving against expectations. But it will feel a little bit uncomfortable because you're going to start to take some different turns to get there. Are you picking up what I'm putting down? Hopefully, you are. Because lastly. When you put this all together, you're going to have your own unique path to getting to your pathway to optionality. Meaning, you don't care anymore what side of the equation you're on. Is there somebody that's going to try to lure you away from your employer? Is there another promotion that's going to take you so high up the org chart that it's going to make you feel uncomfortable. Are you going to feel perfectly comfortable, or is the organization going to have to make some adjustments because it has to stay alive? It's just a reality. But if you understand where your path is and you can get there faster, then you're going to be in a really great place. Why? Because you're going to be prepared, and when you're prepared, it feels wonderful, and even more importantly, you're going to look back and you're going to go, "Hey, listen. The process along the way, not only did I begin to leverage some of the skills that I had while I was in my multinational, the one that needed to continue to stay alive, regardless of I was there or not, because someone else is going to fill in my spot, or if no one needs to fill it, the the organization is just going to shed that skin because it's weighing it down. But you will have built a skill set that is extremely valuable, not just inside of the corporate walls, but also outside of the corporate walls. Those same skills that you can actually leverage immediately to build your unique pathway to optionality, getting crystal clear on where you want to be, integrating your career, and then lastly having control over your time and your ability to produce income, you will leverage those skills. You will do that in a way that is aligned with what you want to do, and you can start to build your own dreams at the same time you're building somebody else's. There is not a problem with doing that. I did it for a long time, and I'm helping other people do exactly the same thing today. So, yes, you may be triggered because everybody wants to tell you it's a big bad corporation. No, the corporation's doing what it needs to do. It needs to stay alive, and it has to make decisions to stay alive. It needs to feed the organism. It's just the reality. The sooner you get to grips with that, the better you will be. Will help you make decisions that are more aligned with what it is you want to do while you're building someone else's dream. You can continue to build yours. If this is you and you need to listen to this again, listen to it again. If you know a friend who's suffering through this because they can't understand why these big companies keep letting people go or changing and adapting or reorganizing, well, let them listen to at least one man's opinion. And then you know what? Debate, have the conversation, get on the phone with them, show them that you care by getting on the phone, having a conversation. Go meet him for coffee. Go meet him for your favorite beverage.

Billy Keels  12:45  

Whatever it is, do that because I want you to go from theory to practice, so that you can begin to develop even more skills that are going to help you get on your pathway to optionality and do it in a way that is aligned with your values and getting there in the time frame that you want to get there. And so, while you're doing that, guess where I'll be? I'll be right here preparing for another conversation. So until then, go out and make it a great day. And thank you very, very much.

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