Recently, a client told me about an employee who not only quit, but burned bridges with the company, its management and many co-workers on his way out the door. This accomplished nothing. Worse, before the bridge was burned (to the ground), the company would have considered rehiring this person in the future.
People get mad, disagree and are frustrated at times. This certainly can happen when someone is leaving a company. This is short-sighted. These type of actions can seriously affect your future opportunities. In business, acting on emotions can have a long lasting effect.
You may never even know you lost a fantastic opportunity. It just won’t be there among your options because memories are long. It feels good to get things off of your chest, but what does it really accomplish? In business most cities are like a small town. People remember being told off longer than someone providing constructive criticism on their way out the door.
So what do you do when you dislike the actions of your employer, co-workers, or even clients or vendors? You have to chart the smoothest course you can. Sometimes it means not saying what’s on your mind in way you would like to, i.e. take the high road. I am not advocating that you ignore serious issues, but it’s better to act on thought than emotion in these situations.
Reputation takes a lifetime to build and seconds to destroy. When you have opportunities to say something or take actions that will feel good in the moment, but will come back at you in the future, choose what you say and do wisely.
