How to survive the Great Layoff

Getting laid off would probably be more fun if it was done by George Clooney.

But sadly, no, I didn't get George.

2 years ago, I was let go by NI.

At the time, I was confused, distraught, and left struggling to make sense of what had just happened.

I was a 16-year veteran who had entered NI as a fresh engineering graduate, slowly paying my dues and climbing up the ranks. Admittedly, NI had one of the best internal training programs in the world, and the company culture was almost like a continuation of school, where mentors, resources, and opportunities were plentiful.

Psychologically, I had made my nest in this company. I had made lifelong friends with colleagues, learned the intricate ways of LabVIEW programming, and even educated myself on the abstract philosophies that NI was spreading to the world, such as Virtual Instrumentation and Graphical System Design. I could memorize NI model numbers and part numbers in my sleep.

And yes, being NI nerds, we even invented a drinking game where if you couldn't name which PXI modules didn't work with a new PXI Express chassis, you took a shot. This was hardcore NI nerd tequila.

I thought I was set for life. No, I wasn't going to be filthy rich working for NI. But I did feel safe, to some extent. Even during the 2008 economic downturn, NI did not turn to layoffs, but instead cut salaries by 5%-10% to ride out the rough economic waters. (In retrospect, this was a brilliant move! Think of the internal morale and camaraderie produced by such a move, this is unthinkable by 2023 standards.)

I couldn't quite grasp the gravity of my layoff at first. (See my post from 2 years before.) Yes, the layoff was bitter. However, a little rosy at first, with folks saying encouraging things and offering support. But as time drew out, life goes on... and that's when the bitter reality sets in.

Even with a respectable severance package, I was left with 2 young kids starting elementary school, and my wife had quit her job the year before to become a full-time mom. And... jackpot! The kids had just drew the lottery to a good private school nearby.

I initiated an "interesting" conversation with my wife about "adjusting" our "expenses", as perhaps under the current "circumstances" we would be a "little" strapped for "cash". Maybe we could explore different "options", like public school "perhaps"? That convo did not end well. My wife, as supportive as she is and always will be (god bless her), basically said to me, "You saw this coming. Now man up and own it. We are not making changes. Figure it out."

To those who are expecting a 3-step guide about how to recover gracefully from a layoff, sorry. This is not that post. This is a post about how life just hit you in the face with a brick, and what you intend to do about it.

Back to my layoff. After a couple of weeks of staring into space and failing miserably at meditation, I was determined to extract as much value from this experience as possible. To quote Winston Churchill, "Never let a good crisis go to waste."

What was the world trying to tell me? What did I assume to be true, that simply wasn't? I wanted to seek the truth, not to feel better. Feeling better solves nothing. The truth solves everything. After digging deep, here's what I found to be true:

1. Be valuable. Every company will say they value their employees, but please realize that this is an analog function, not a boolean function. There will be employees more valuable than others. If fat has to be trimmed, the lower value employees get cut first. The only antidote to not get cut, is to make yourself more valuable, so that you are not fat, but muscle. However, "value" can be an elusive concept. You have learn to see value from the eyes of the company. More on this in point 3.
2. Don't let your life run on autopilot. When working for a good company, it is also at the same time very dangerous. You are sheltered from the realities of the business landscape, and it's easy to get complacent, which will lead to the boiling frog syndrome. People who work for crappy companies are constantly updating their resume and investing in their skills, so that they can get the hell out of there. So, don't let your life run on autopilot. Figure out what you want from life, then go get it. When the plane crashes on autopilot, you have no one to blame but yourself.
3. Hard does not equal valuable. As an engineer, this was a revelation that shattered my reality. You can be the best programmer in the world, and you can code the best version of Minesweeper using all the fancy frameworks and best practices, but it doesn't really matter if it the company does not see it valuable. So, you better attach your efforts to what makes the company money. If your manager already has you working on money-making activities, good. If not, you need to fire your manager ASAP, because "just following orders" won't do you any favors.

If you've read this far into this article, you're probably think I'm a cynical person. I'm not cynical, I'm just pragmatic. My takeaway for you is this:

With all the best intentions of the employer/employee institution, you cannot afford to let the employer to manage your career.

You're the one that needs to manage your career. Not your manager. Not your company. You need to be consistently curating your skill set, and increasing your net value. This may seem elementary for some, but if you've worked for a big company that has sheltered you with a comfy job, consider this a wake-up call.

Lastly, if you have been laid off in 2023, or know of someone who has, I leave you with 3 pieces of advice:

1. Read. Read about everything. Most of all, read about politics, finance, and about how the world works. If you're struggling with a problem, chances are that in the history of mankind, someone's written a book about it. My favorites are Almanack of Naval Ravikant, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio, and The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge.
2. Seek wealth, not money. Wealth is an equal balance of a) money, b) health, and c) relationships. Money only solves money problems. Keep this in mind as you look for your next job opportunity.
3. Don't set goals, build systems. Achieving a goal is only a temporary change. I like to install systems that will produce the same results over and over again. James Clear speaks more about this in his book Atomic Habits.

So what about me? Have I used this wonderful advice to find my next job? Ironically, no. With a healthy distrust of the employment institution, I set out to seek 3 ambitions with the remainder of my life. They are:

• Never worry about money, again.
• Never get laid off, again.
• Never let my life run on autopilot, again.

After realizing that my criteria couldn't be met with a normal job, I became an entrepreneur and co-founded TENET Technologies. And so far so good! I've achieved 2 out of the 3 goals above. ?? But this is a story for another time.