I am so glad you’re reading this.

It’s a lesson, inspiration, book passage, and so much more all wrapped in one.

Have you ever felt backed into a corner?

Ever felt stuck and not sure what your next move was?

Ever undervalue yourself?

Ever get ticked off because someone didn’t recognize your worth?

Let me share a personal story of mine.

I’ve shared this previously in written and video form.

Today, I’d like to share it in book form.

This is the opening section of Chapter 14, Inspiring with Your Personal Story, from my latest creation: The Zebra Code: A Step-By-Step Guide to Mastering Career Skills That Make You a Standout Professional.

If you like the story and are motivated to develop communication and many other skills necessary to build a rewarding career, consider grabbing, from me, my 2-for-1 (BOGO, Buy One Get One FREE) deal on the hardcover or single versions (hardcover, ebook, audiobook) from the retailers.

THE ZEBRA CODE, CHAPTER 14
Inspiring with Your Personal Story

Your greatest opportunities will be found in the sounds of other people’s complaints.

It was Friday afternoon, November 19th, 2004. While I don’t remember the exact time, I’ll never forget the date or the mere minutes that would become a defining moment in my life. The CEO called me into his office.

I had just spent the last 312 days—my entire tenure with this consulting company—serving as a Vice President of Business Development. I created, designed, and sold consulting “products” to the tune of slightly over $4 million. The company was a mere $12 million dollars in total revenue before I joined, so I’m thinking I’m doing my part.

The CEO tells me he “needs” to make changes and, as part of those changes, I have “two” options. The first option was to take a $100,000 salary pay cut and become a sales representative. He generously points out, through good production, I could earn back my reduced salary in the form of sales commissions. The second option was to take a $25,000 pay cut and manage consulting projects.

I literally thought he was kidding, but since he didn’t have much of a sense of humor, I knew this was no joke. I wondered, What the heck is going on? I discovered a few months later that he was getting ready to sell the company, and didn’t want my compensation reflected in next year’s cash-flow projections.

After a brief exchange, I said, “Give me the weekend to think about it. I’ll check in with you Monday morning with one of my four answers.” Then I walked out.

As I left, he asked, “Four?”

I didn’t bother to turn around to explain. I could have picked any number because the number of choices then, now, and forever will be infinite.

Let’s do the math. I had the two unattractive options he gave me. I could quit, which didn’t take much creativity to come up with on the fly. I felt there must be another option, but couldn’t grasp it at the moment.

As I headed back to my rather unflattering cubicle, I stopped at my best friend’s desk. My next-door neighbor and childhood buddy, Tony, who I’ve known since I was eleven years old, was our staffing coordinator. He managed the list of our clients at which our company’s consultants were deployed. He also tracked which clients were waiting for us to put our staff resources on their projects.

I asked him, “How much money are we ‘losing’ each month because we don’t have ‘butts in the seats?’” (“Butts in the seats” is endearing slang in consulting-speak for filling a client request for a resource.) That is, I wanted to know what we could have been earning if we simply had the consulting resources our clients wanted.

He said, “It’s big.”

I asked, “How big? Can you give me the number down to the dime?”

He said, “$249,000 and change.”

I asked, “A quarter of a million dollars? How about the previous few months? Similar?”

Turns out, over the previous four months, our company could have earned an additional $1 million in consulting revenue if we had the resources our clients would have happily paid for! I’m guessing that stung the CEO a bit. That would have looked nice on the profit and loss statement, especially considering the company was about to be sold.

I did some thinking over the weekend. I thought about what I wanted. I thought about how I could leave this company on my terms. I focused positively on this new opportunity. That’s what his ultimatum was—a golden opportunity. That’s the date a professional executive recruiter was born.

On Monday, I walked into his office.

He asked, “Which option did you choose?”

I said, “I chose the one where I open up my own recruitment firm and you become my first client.”

The look on his face was absolutely priceless. I wish the iPhone had been invented back then because nothing would have stopped me from snapping that picture and framing a twenty-by-twenty-four blow up of it.

I continued, “We’re losing out on a quarter of a million dollars each month because we don’t have the resources. That’s every month! You need help. I know our company and positions better than the corporate recruiter and you’ll never find a recruiting agency who understands this business like I do. You get the help you need and I’ll even discount my standard rate 20 percent for you.”

He said, “You already have a standard rate?”

We laughed.

I said, “Yes, it’s 25 percent (of the employee’s first year compensation) and you can have it for 20 percent. Either way, what does it matter? You’re not paying me anything unless you hire the people.”

We signed the contract before the Thanksgiving holiday.

I had my first client and I didn’t even have a company name yet.

If, a few days earlier, people had told me I’d be a business owner the following week, I’d have laughed in their faces.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU HATE YOUR OPTIONS

 On my YouTube channel, I told the story about this CEO years earlier.

Catch it here if you want to hear the Andy-animated version of it.

Either way, do me the favor of making your mark in this world.

You get what you settle for.

Settle for more.

Check out my blog post on How to Change Your Life When You Hate Your Options!

******************

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WHO IS THIS DUDE?

Andrew LaCivita, a globally-renowned career and leadership coach, is the founder of the milewalk Academy®. During the course of his distinguished career, he has impacted over 350 companies, more than 100,000 individuals, and spanned nearly 200 countries, helping them unlock their full potential. He is an award-winning author who gained international recognition with his groundbreaking books, Interview Intervention: Communication That Gets You Hired, The Hiring Prophecies: Psychology behind Recruiting Successful Employees, and The Zebra Code: A Step-By-Step Guide to Mastering Career Skills That Make You a Standout Professional. These seminal works, along with his celebrated vlog, Tips for Work and Life®, consistently earn top spots on reputable, worldwide lists which rank the best career advice books and blogs. Andrew remains actively engaged across various social media platforms and shares his expertise through his weekly Live Office Hours on YouTube every Thursday.