How To Avoid Being Blindsided in Business

Posted on | April 5, 2009 |

An exit strategy is a plan that sets a course for your career.  It answers the question “what’s next?” What all executives must realize is that you shouldn’t be asking that question only after you get downsized or something else happens TO you.  An effective plan also functions as a personal safety net.

An exit strategy is a framework for thinking about next steps. In addition, it helps you articulate a vision of your future and what you hope to achieve throughout your career.  To maximize your choices and options, this framework sets the basis for thinking about what those goals look like and what they require.

As the old saying goes, “if you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t know when you get there.” You should always have some idea where you want to go next and what it will take to get there.  Have short term goals, think regularly about long term goals, and then remember that “life happens”.

A strong, effective exit strategy must include the following four elements:
1. Your survival fund….expenses for eight to twelve months.
2. A personal board of directors… for solid advice and good counsel.
3.  Plan to increase your marketability…how to expand your skill sets.
4.  A vast network of contacts…. being leveraged to your advantage.

Once your personal safety net or exit strategy is in place, it will shape the way you respond to bosses, peers, subordinates, shareholders, boards of directors, and everyone else. And, most important, it will allow you to do what you think is necessary in the service of growth – both yours and your company’s.

In today’s turbulent marketplace it’s critical to have a smart savvy plan for moving ahead - whether it’s to a new position in your company or out the door.

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