Hello again everybody. Louis and I decided that last month's President's Letter - based upon the feelings it evoked - deserved a follow-up. I think we may be on to something and your opinions are always worthwhile to us. If you’d like to share your own insights, please contact Louis at using our Online Contact Form. All the best, Judy

"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" --- (The Postscript)
By Louis Gerzofsky, Director of IT Search and Executive Career Coaching

Last month's President's Letter, 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do', touched a nerve amongst many of our readers. The number and quality of the responses I received far exceeded any previous articles. I thought I'd share some of the responses as a means of facilitating the discussion. For confidentiality purposes, no one's name or organization will be mentioned.

What happens to the careers of executives who habitually bring their inner circle with them whenever they change jobs? And, what happens to those executives who follow their bosses from role to role?

Many of my respondents said that these hiring decisions resulted from the pressure to perform 'miracles' during the first 90 days on the job. How else, some of them reasoned, could they ensure themselves of the quick successes that come from those "low hanging fruit deliveries" unless they surrounded themselves with people they knew and trusted from their past? As one CIO remarked, "I make it a point to hire people who have worked with me for so long that we can finish each other's sentences."

If your boss leaves for greener pastures and offers you a job in the new organization, "you'd be a fool not to accept that offer, especially when your current organization's new CIO is going to bring in his or her people and you'll be out of a job." No one wants to be the last person at the party, especially if it may mean the lights going out on their career progress. Some opined that jumping with their boss to another firm, especially if they'd only been with their organization for a relatively short time, "would give future employers a positive impression in terms of loyalty and stability."

The common thread for most of these responses was the reactive or defensive nature of these hiring decisions. Most people cited an understandable fear of failure in their new roles or fear of being viewed as "part of the previous administration's problem" if they didn't follow their boss to the new organization.

I'm not judging - within reason - anyone else's motives for the moves they make during their careers. As an executive recruiter and career coach, I've witnessed or heard a myriad of the good and bad decisions that C Suite executives make, both up and down the ladder. And I expect to see quite a few new ones in the years ahead.

^***Next month's issue is going to focus on resignations and some of the issues that go along with them: succession planning, counter offers and so forth. If anyone has a suggestion or a story that could help our 'community', feel free to call or contact me via our Online Contact Form.

I always appreciate your input. Please address them via our Online Contact Form.

As always, thank you for your time and attention.