LEADERSHIP LESSONS
Getting Fired … Up Why sudden ‘career change’ can be the best thing that ever happens to you. BY HARVEY MACKAY | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL
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any people have lost their jobs during this pandemic through no
fault of their own. For my book, “We Got Fired! … And It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us,” I interviewed 29 people who landed on their feet and excelled after they were furloughed or given a pink slip. These were high profile people, often fired in a very public arena. To sum up each of their inspirational stories, I asked everyone what advice they would give to people looking for a job today.
Pat Mitchell was the first woman president and CEO of PBS at the time. She had been working as a researcher/ writer for Look Magazine when it went out of business. Her advice was: “Be determined … I was determined not to give up. I figured it would all come around if I could find a way to survive financially while I stayed focused on what I wanted. It didn’t come easily. If you look at my resume, it seems like one exciting jump from one run to the next. Every one of those moves was somewhat of a risk. Some didn’t work out as I planned or hoped. I didn’t follow a straight line to get where I am, but I never went backward either.” She added: “Seize every chance you have to learn. It’s amazing how many skills we seem to acquire by accident.” Bernie Marcus was CEO of the Handy Dan Home Improvement Center chain when the parent company declared bankruptcy. Marcus was fired by a vindictive board even though the Handy Dan division was not in bankruptcy. “They threw me out of my office and put bars on the door. They searched my files. It was pretty terrible – one of those corporate things. You hear about them, but you don’t really know what they are like until you live through one.” He was convinced to drop his lawsuit against the company by a mentor who encouraged him to get on with his life. Another friend advised him to open the store he had always dreamed of. And that’s how The Home Depot was born. He was fired from a top spot in hardware retailing and went on to redefine the hardware industry. Billie Jean King, winner of 39 women’s tennis grand-slam titles, experienced a series of career
Photo credit: iStockphoto / retrorocket
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE //
> Promontory
MortgagePath hired Kim Joyce as co-regional vice president in its sales division.
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| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE
> LRES
Corporation promoted Molly Merchant to vice president of operations, REO
> Scott Lascelles was selected as a board member for LendingUSA management and HOA services.
> Baird & Warner
hired Nina Fotopoulos as senior vice president, strategic growth.
