While everyone was watching for the telecommuting trend to explode, something else exploded right next to it: The virtual company. The business with no office to telecommute from.

via Virtual office is what you make it – The Boston Globe.

Seriously! Visualize how you would leave the company in the event that you were laid off.  What steps would, or could, you take?  Some employers will not allow you to send email or delete your personal files.  I recommend keeping your personal and business files completely separate.  Buy a flash drive or use a service like Dropbox.com.

“Aren’t I setting myself up for failure or expecting to be laid off?”  No.

“He who fails to plan, plans to fail” – quoted by teachers everywhere.

Even founders get laid off (as you’ll see in an upcoming interview with Randy Wilburn).  If you plan to leave, then you’ll be less embarrassed and it will be easier for you if it should happen.

Like I said, it took me 3 minutes from the time of the layoff meeting to when I was ready to go out the door.  I’m sure it baffled my then employers

Your Strategic Life Plan is like a business plan for your life.  It is the guide that you will use to fulfill your purpose, see your vision come to fruition and accomplish your life goals.  It is a dynamic document and one that you should review everyday.  It is a personal document and one that should not be taken lightly or shared loosely – do not cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6).

This process may take hours, days, weeks and for some years to complete.  Click here to access a template, that hopefully, will enable you to complete this life changing document sooner rather than later.

I started my strategic life plan just before I got laid off and completed it shortly after and I am so thrilled!  I wake up everyday excited about what lies ahead.  I know exactly what I need to do and I get most of it done – I’m still working on time management .

I feel fulfilled and I know you will too.

I once worked at a company that when through huge layoffs when the dot com bubble burst.  I saw colleagues, who had given their life to a company go through the painful (and embarrassing) process of gathering their things, packing a box or boxes and enduring the walk of shame.  I then told myself, “I will never leave with a box!”  From then on I kept my office clean and uncluttered.  The last 2 times I was laid off, I was out of there in 3 minutes.  Does it mean I didn’t care or I was less involved or passionate about my job?  No.  It simply meant that I realized that if the company needed to axe my behind to meet the annual numbers, they would.

Here’s a chilling thought…take a deep breath.  Half of that breath belongs to your employer.  You don’t believe me…

• You wake up early to go to work
• You commute 30 minutes to an hour to work
• You spend 8, 10, 12 hours at work
• You commute 30 minutes to an hour home from work while thinking about work
• You get home and barely have time before your kids have to go to bed
• You have dinner, chat with the wife and then go to bed early to wake up the next morning to start all over again

Now add up all the time you are at work, going to work, leaving work and thinking about work and you will find that half of your life is tied to your job.  So if you are not doing what you were created to do, I’m sure that you’re pretty miserable.  This is why creating a strategic life plan is so very important.

“Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson, M.D. deserves special mention and if you haven’t read it you must!  My daughter (now 9) read it when she was 8 and got the message.  The story is about Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw, four mice in search of Cheese (a metaphor for what is important to you – in this case your job).  It’s funny and has a powerful message.  It will give you lots of great insight about being prepared and ready to move when your “Cheese” moves.  You will learn about “the handwriting on the wall”…

• Change Happens
  • They keep moving the Cheese
• Anticipate Change
  • Get ready for the Cheese to move
• Monitor Change
  • Smell the Cheese often so you know when it is getting old
• Adapt to Change Quickly
  • The quicker you let go of old Cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new Cheese
• Change
  • Move with the Cheese
• Enjoy Change!
  • Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new Cheese!
• Be Ready to Change Quickly and Enjoy it Again & Again
  • They keep moving the Cheese

I read this book before I was laid off and it is certainly helped me be better prepared.

By having unemployment insurance I mean that you should have some money stashed away for emergency situations.  You must have at least $1000 in your emergency spending account.  This is just the bare minimum.  You should have a budget that you stick to, debt under control (hopefully zero) and savings.

You pay bills for services such as electricity, phone and water but you have debt associated with things such as credit card purchases, car, house, etc. – keep your bills current and your debt under control.  If you get laid off, lower your bills by cutting out unnecessary expenses like Netflix (or Blockbuster J) and cable and talk to your creditors about reducing your debt payments.

Three great books to read on finances are Your “Your Money Counts” by Howard Dayton,“Financial Peace University” by Dave Ramsey and “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley,William D. Danko.  Also check out the websites Crown.org and DaveRamsey.com.

At least once a year you should update your resume – especially if you don’t plan on starting your own business anytime soon.

By keeping your resume up to date you will be able to tell whether or not the skills that you are learning on the job are transferable.  I worked at my first job out of college for 9 years.  A year before I left I realized that most of my skills were not transferable.  I was institutionalized by my job.  If I were let go that day I would not be marketable because most of my skills were useless in the “outside world”.  I then embarked on a mission of learning.  I took every free class the company offered which gave me tools and skills that were industry specific versus job specific.  I continued this trend at the job I just got laid off from.  You know, if your boss is reluctant to allow you to take “reasonable” training, it may be a sign that something is not right.

Secondly, keeping your resume up-to-date will remind you of where you are on your educational goals.  You remember that degree or certificate you promise yourself that you’ll get every year.

Your resume is like a report card of where you’ve been and how prepared you are to move forward.

It certainly helps surviving a layoff when you are prepared. Don’t get caught without having adequate preparation. This applies if you are currently employed or are in between jobs. Don’t forget the five P’s:

• Proper
• Planning
• Prevents
• Poor
• Performance (In this case you walk of shame through the doors you entered so often before)

The next few blog posts will address the question of what should be done before a layoff…

• Keep Resume Up to Date
• Have Unemployment Insurance for Education, Rent and Loans
• Read “Who Moved My Cheese”
• Be Always Ready to Leave
• Strategic Life Plan
• Plan to Leave

On Thursday February 18th, 2010 I was laid off. I have joined the club, become a statistic. Did I see it coming? Sort of. Was I prepared to leave? Most definitely! But it still hurts to be rejected though and it’s still frustrating when you see a company you once loved heading in the wrong direction. Nevertheless, I decided a long time ago that who I am and what I do, although related, is not the same.

Anyway, I got the idea that I should share my story; write a blog and an eBook. I will survive this layoff and I will bounce back! I hope that the information, tips and tools that I provide (use, live and experience) will help other folks out there who have been or will be laid off.

You too will survive, you too can bounce back!