Do You Have "Layoff KPIs"? Here Are 3 From a Sports-Minded Sales Leader

“Your role has been impacted, and here are the details of your severance package…”

It was 10:37PM in Phuket, a province located in southern Thailand.

I was at an Airbnb, in my bedroom, on my cell phone, on a week-long vacation with friends, and after that first line, my mind blanked.

My first move was to call my wife who reassured me that everything was going to be okay.

The next thing I remember was going immediately into survival mode:?

• What does this mean for me and my family??
• What does this mean for my sales team? Are they okay? Should I reach out??
• My friends are upstairs hanging out - I don’t want to burden them with this…
• Wait—what do I need to do when I get home before my access turns off??

The only thing worse than being sad is being alone and sad, so, begrudgingly, I turned off my phone and headed back upstairs to be with friends that have a way of turning any situation into a positive one (you know who you are).?

The next day, I packed up, said my goodbyes, and headed out on my scheduled flight home. The 10+ hour journey back to San Francisco without WiFi was the perfect time to be alone with my thoughts and feelings (read: sarcasm). I remember getting less than four hours of sleep - partly due to the person next to me getting up every ~2 hours to go to the bathroom…..but largely due to my mind racing.?

While this wasn't my fault (which I'm just now starting to understand), I just felt helpless.?

However, when I stepped off the plane and made it through immigration with zero wait (shoutout, Global Entry), I knew what I needed to do - take action and take responsibility for what happens next.

I had less than 24 hours to say my final goodbyes to my peers, host a final team meeting to tell them how proud I was of the work we did together, and made sure that I finished the job the right way.?

And just like that, at 11AM PT on Friday, May 12th, I became an “unrestricted free agent” for the first time in 22 years.?

So, the question becomes “What does a sports-minded sales leader do when they get laid off?”

To quote Ted Lasso: be a goldfish.?

After posting on LinkedIn about the news, I received a flood of emails, texts, chats, phone calls, and physical letters from folks across the entire globe.

In three weeks, I had 43 calls with family, friends, acquaintances, former customers, former colleagues, recruiters, CEOs, founders, strangers, and folks that I had thought had forgotten about working with me. (p.s. I’m still in the process of reaching out to everyone - I’m immensely grateful.)?

And because it had been a while since I was officially on the job market, I needed to build the “talking about me” muscle, and reinforce to myself the value that I bring to teams. Setting my own “Layoff Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)” in this process was going to be key, and I set them to help me get to the objective: get interviews (and so then I could earn the intended result: get a job).?

If you’re going through this, and when you’re ready to get back out there, here are three KPIs that could help guide your approach:?

• Number of calls per week - conversations matter. Staying vocal and active about what you want next is good so that others can support you. We can’t do this alone.?
• Number of applications per week - you miss 100% of the shots you don't take (thanks, Wayne Gretzky), so, shoot your shot (ideally through a referral)
• Number of recruiter phone screens per week - not every phone screen will turn into an interview, but this is the first step in the formal process

If you consistently do the things that will make you successful (and you’re not successful yet) - eventually you will be.?

Be a goldfish.?

Onward. Forward.

KL