For context: I am – or rather, I was – the Vice President and Chief Pilot of a small business in FL. Hurricane Ian just blew threw our HQ and wrecked things pretty good. Before the storm hit, I asked the owner to review our business continuity plan because the storm was increasing in intensity and we were bound to lose power, phone, internet, office space, etc. Pretty much everything to keep the business afloat no pun intended. He responded that he HAD NO PLAN. None. Zip. I protested. How could he have NO PLAN? He responded by saying he’s been in business for 40 years and that he would just game-time the decisions the day of. I protested again. I was shot down with a final, condescending “well how many hurricanes have you lived through?”
At that point I told him I was in an evacuation zone and that I intended to go to the other side of the state, working with limited capacity to see that our customers aka cash flow was still being handled. That was my plan because folks depend on us. He scoffed and said “good luck.”
Well lo and behold! Ian turned out to be a doozy. Power is still out for many of our employees, as well as our offices being uninhabitable for the time being. Our company was reduced to two – 2! – people taking calls, payments, and keeping things running. That was my plan. The owner spent the hurricane at a Four Seasons.
I worked through the storm, through a power outage, and kept assuring all our employees it was fine, that they still had jobs on Monday. The owner then calls me today asking what my plan was for work this coming Monday. I reminded him that is my wedding anniversary and that my wife and I are going to be out-of-pocket. This anniversary trip was planned and paid for months ago. Well he did not like that at all and told me to “cancel my anniversary so that I could work.”
I laughed. But he was serious. I told him I wasn’t going to change my plan. He gave me an ultimatum: cancel my wedding anniversary and come in to work or I’m terminated. I told him he was making a mistake. He said are you coming in yes or no.
I said no. So he fired me. My wife was standing right there. I know I did the right thing.
I’m not worried about finding a new job. But the lesson here is: don’t ever stress yourself out or break your back for a company that sees you only as means of production; a skill set to exploit. It will never last. Chase only your passions and choose love, every time.