After being in business for over 21 years, my wife and I, after much consternation decided to sell our business. The sale closed in early September. Every business counselor we presented the terms to told us we'd be fools not to take the deal. It did provide us with a continuation plan for our employees. It also provided a way for us to get the value of the business out of the business for our retirement and for our family. Win Win. Not so fast...
Our employees are bouncing off the walls. The change has jarred them. We fully recognize that change is unsettling. I can tell you that we believe that we sold our company to an organization that comes close to providing the kind of culture that we successfully created for our employees. We did the best we could. By all measures, the transition is going as well as can be expected. The new company has bent over backwards to accommodate our staff. They still have great jobs and have not lost any benefits of note. They are still bouncing off walls.
There is pressure on us as well which I really underestimated. We have signed up for "change" as well. We have two year employment agreements and after that retirement. In other words, the unknown! We are both cool with the idea but combined with the angst our employees are exhibiting, it definitely has been working on us. So, now we are all bouncing off walls.
We'll get through this but I never expected the anxiety levels to reach these levels. I needed to write this just to relieve some pressure. We humans surely know how to amp up the drama level of anything.
In a crazy sort of way, I think being in the middle of this process will make the whole retirement thing very attractive. You wanna bounce off walls, go ahead bounce away. I'll be pleasure traveling or reading for pleasure or playing my guitar or making gourment food for us to eat while we still have teeth, or golfing or laying by the pool or watching a movie or sipping on some wine or golfing or golfing or golfing. Did I mention golfing?
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2 comments:
Glad you vented - blogging is great for that! I am sure your employees have been "spoiled" by working for such wonderful people all this time and their worlds have been shaken, BUT, they should be thanking you that you cared enough to cover their butts and they still have jobs!!! Just having employment is something to be thankful for these days!!!
Your retirement plans sound perfect, but you didn't mention golfing....aren't you going to golf? ;)
I may golf...I'm not sure.
I'm not real religious but my Christian upbringing tells me that you should give without regard to ever recieving...this is another one of those instances. We have done the best we could. We can't make them know that now. In my heart of hearts, I know that the wisdom to realize this will come someday. If it doesn't it wouldn't change our decisions to operate any differently.
One of the things I forgot to mention about retirement is going to more concerts and if things work out maybe someday you me and Michelle can take one in together.
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