Smart Exit Blueprint Video Week 1

Note: The Smart Exit Blueprint program is no longer available but you may still watch the video series and take steps toward your own smart exit. To explore private coaching opportunities with Farnoosh, please apply here.

Now that you have watched the video, you should be able to apply the 6 unavoidable reasons for an exit strategy to your own job and career. Do that now and watch for the next video in your Inbox.

Video #1 Transcript

Hello and welcome. My name is Farnoosh Brock and this is the first of the short video series I’ve prepared for you to talk about number one, what is an exit strategy, and number two, six compelling reasons that no one talks about why you really need an exit strategy.

Let’s get started.

What is an exit strategy?

When I use the word “exit” I don’t mean exiting your job and quitting tomorrow and dashing for your dreams. That’s not necessarily what I mean. What I mean by “exit” is leaving the current situation you are in. When you are trapped and frustrated in your current job, exiting that situation can take on many different forms. By “exit” I mean leaving that situation, moving away from your pains and frustrations and creating the conditions where you are going to be happy with your work.

It can take on different forms.

Number one: you could be in your current job, but by changing a few things you may find yourself in a happier place again. So, you haven’t even moved out of your job.

Number two: you may be in your job, very unhappy, but there may be another role for you in a different organization in the same company where you could thrive and play to your strengths.

You may be in an unhappy job and not really find anything within your current company, but the ideal place for you may be in a different company; maybe a larger company, maybe smaller, maybe a non-profit – but that’s just the move from where you are to where you can find the right fit for you.

Maybe you are ready for self employment; maybe you want to start your own business. Maybe you have a side hustle and you want to turn into a full-time business and that may be your exit strategy – moving from a job into that role.

An exit strategy can take on many different forms and you go through many different stages of that, so that’s what I mean by having an exit strategy.

I want to give you six reasons why you absolutely need to be thinking about an exit strategy whether or not you use it; whether or not you use it tomorrow or a year from now.

Number one is job stability. You don’t know what your employer may do tomorrow. They may make business decisions that may structure you out of your job and that doesn’t make them a bad employer, it’s just the nature of business. It could happen to anybody. There is no such thing as job security and you may never find out, but the truth is, when or of that happens, you want to be ready for it. You want to have an exit strategy before that ever comes to be and you just cannot be too sure. You cannot depend on that. That’s the number one reason. You really don’t want to depend on job security. You need to have an exit strategy no matter what your job.

Number two is team dynamics. By that I mean you love your job, your boss, your manager, your team, but things change. Your boss moves on and a new manager comes in. Your team splits up and suddenly you wake up, and you’re in a totally different place. Everything has changed – the dynamics, the culture and you’re no longer happy. You need to know, before that happens, what is the ideal nexus step for you in your professional track so that you don’t have to make a decision in a panic, because we don’t make smart decisions when we’re under that kind of panic and pressure. That’s reason number two.

Number three is compensation – what you are worth. You have absolutely no control over what your employer will compensate you. A year from now or five years from now, you may be investing in yourself and developing new skills and talents, but if you are working for someone else, they hold the cards on how much you get paid and that may be the most frustrating thing of all. You need to have an exit strategy. You need to know your nexus steps if you’re not happy with that future compensation down the road. That’s reason number three.

Number four is life changing events. Life happens. There may be a change in your health, in the health of one of your dependents, you may need to move away from your current city, you may not be able to be in a position to work for your current employer and you need to have a plan for yourself in case that ever happens. That’s something that none of us want to think about but it’s the reality of life and that’s why you really need to have this before it ever comes to be.

Number five is growth limitations. With your job growth you basically outgrow your role. You become too qualified to do the current job and there is nothing else within the proximity of it; there are no more projects. You need to know where to go next. You need to be constantly growing and learning and if you’re not challenged over the long term, it starts to really weigh on you even if you’re well compensated.

That happened to me, and that brings us to number six.

Enough already! You wake up one day and for whatever reason, all of these frustrations have build up and you no longer want to do your work. You no longer want to go to work or to be in that place. That’s when you really need to have your exit strategy. You need to have a well thought out plan before you get to that state so that you know exactly what you’re going to do next.

This is part of smart planning because no one controls your career or its future; you do. You are the only person.

Today, I talked to you a little bit about what it means to have an exit strategy, I gave you six compelling reasons as to why you need to have one, and if you want to learn more about how to put together your step-by-step exit strategy, feel free to check out the Smart Exit Blueprint course that’s coming to you in August. I would love to have you in class.

Let me know how you enjoyed this video and your homework is to think about what your ideal exit strategy looks like.

Thank you for watching.