it's not personal...it's just business

Up until a few months ago I was working for a small consulting firm in DC. Last fall the CEO called a rare all staff meeting and told us that our firm was "taking an investment" from a private equity company (in other words the firm was being sold). This was all very exciting, he said, because it will allow us to grow and pursue a lot of the projects and business lines that had been up until that point illusory. One of my colleagues asked what this would all mean for the staff and we were told that the change in ownership would have a negligible impact on our lives. I probably don't need to tell you that that wasn't exactly the case.

Long story short there was a "reorganization" (read most of the senior staff were let go - me and 2 other VP's axed on the same day) and I found myself looking for what to do next. Luckily I figured that "taking an investment" would mean a whole-scale change in what the firm did and that probably would lead to a lot of staff turnover. I figured we had several months before the deal was finalized so I started taking some writing classes after hours and networking to try to find my next move. I haven't totally figured that out yet, but am trying to find a way to launch my own business. 

I met one of my fellow VP casualties this morning for coffee to catch up and I was struck by how much he was still reeling from our sudden unemployment. He lamented not heeding my advice back in January when the buyout was imminent about considering how we would all fit into the new firm (if at all). But mostly I was struck by how interested he was in rehashing the events of our former employment. Maybe I should be more concerned about not having a regular job in the current economy, but I really see this as a gift. I've wanted to work for myself for so long and I don't know that I would have had the guts to go for it if I wasn't given a proper push. 

I don't feel bad about not working at that firm anymore (quite honestly I wasn't having much fun at my job the last 6 months or so that I was there), and I also don't feel particularly wronged by my ousting (even though I probably should). I wonder if this is a sign of growth. Could it be that I haven't just crossed the 30-threshold, but I've also crossed some sort of maturity milestone? If this had happened five years ago I probably would have displayed a fair amount of emotion over the situation, but even as I was "being let go" I stayed totally calm. I actually felt a great sense of relief and have felt relieved ever since. 

I don't know if my new business will succeed or not. I do know that my destiny is in my hands more than ever before, and that is maybe the best feeling about my career I've ever had.