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GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES:
NOW WHAT?????? Guidance and help for those navigating the difficult transition from public to private sector work and life. |
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Coffee break in the faculty lounge
February 15, 2025. I invested four and a half hours building this web page for you, because you're worth it. Nothing on it is AI-generated. It is 100% original and authentic - again, because you are worth it.
I'm thinking about all the public sector employees who are going to have to figure out something else to do.
You know, a different set of muscles is necessary to function in the private sector. I watched my mom and dad struggle through the transition.
In early life, they had become accustomed to the life of public school teachers with modest but steady paychecks, predictable routines, collegial relationships, membership in a large organization, clear admin structure, procedures, rubrics, pay scales, retirement benefits, record keeping systems, etc.
I'm thinking about all the public sector employees who are going to have to figure out something else to do.
You know, a different set of muscles is necessary to function in the private sector. I watched my mom and dad struggle through the transition.
In early life, they had become accustomed to the life of public school teachers with modest but steady paychecks, predictable routines, collegial relationships, membership in a large organization, clear admin structure, procedures, rubrics, pay scales, retirement benefits, record keeping systems, etc.
 Posing at the classroom piano. Could she actually play it? Hmmmm . . . .
At midlife, everything changed and they were both confronted with the challenge of building private sector muscles. Mom was better at it, because she was more intuitive and emotionally intelligent. She was better at reading a room and practicing empathy, and she was the more pragmatic and expeditious of the two. And she was just straight up more likable.
Dad tried, but never really "got it" and was usually in his own way. To the end he remained too theoretical, academic, abstract, procedural, ponderous, idealistic, and contrary to be of much use in the private sector. Prospective clients had no patience for him; they wanted to see ROI now. He dabbled in real estate and had his best experiences there, but wasn't really what you might call a success at it. To be honest, he hated it because he was a very thoughtful man, and he found that real estate is not a very thoughtful industry. (There are books on the subject of transitioning out of the public sector. You can Google them or ask Chat GPT about it, if you're into that sort of thing.) |
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For myself, I've been functioning in the private sector, and helping others do so, since 1996. For me, what became really important was creating your own structures, systems, and routines, because unlike a school district or some other bureaucracy, nobody is going to do that for you. In a sense you have to get good at looking over your own shoulder, being your own supervisor.
You also have to get good at participating in bilateral, versus trilateral, relationships. You have to sensitize yourself to mutuality, developing keen empathy for parties like customers, vendors, and employees. Your income no longer comes from taxes or grants; it comes from your client, so you have to be much more sensitive to his, her, or their satisfaction than you would be in a trilateral situation.
You also have to get good at participating in bilateral, versus trilateral, relationships. You have to sensitize yourself to mutuality, developing keen empathy for parties like customers, vendors, and employees. Your income no longer comes from taxes or grants; it comes from your client, so you have to be much more sensitive to his, her, or their satisfaction than you would be in a trilateral situation.
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And you have to get good at sales which, for me, meant understanding how long it really takes from the initial contact to the consummation of a deal. Typically I find that it is 90-180 days, sometimes longer, and that 20% of salespeople close 80% of sales on the sixth callback. Good organization and persistent follow up are essential, and often lacking.
This is why I'm a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) nut. I found that you need a system to help you remember, follow through, and overcome your own bashfulness and forgetfulness. But you have to really like people, you can't fake it. People who hate people don't engage with CRM systems. They're graduates of what I call the odious yet all-too-common "I Hate You, And I Want Your Money" School of Business. It doesn't really work; clients can smell this toxic attitude, but I must say it is awfully prevalent, you know, with so many scams out there, terrible customer service, and general decline of civility and manners in our modern culture. |
No, to really use a CRM effectively, your heart has to be in it. You really have to be interested in, care about, and genuinely like people. This is an attitude that can't be faked. People sense it.
People do business with people whom they like, respect, and trust. They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. These are tired old cliches, but they're true.
This is something my Dad never managed to achieve. He presumed that since he knew Psychology, that was enough. But it wasn't, and he had a kind of off-putting personality and he hated the phone, so it was pretty much duck soup for him, a fatal combination of shortcomings.
In short, successful mental health professionals said, "Tell me how you feel" and really listened to the answer. He said, "Complete this form and I will tell you what is wrong with you, and prescribe a remedy, for I am the expert." It flew like a lead balloon. Nobody wants to work with a conceited, unsympathetic know-it-all.
(Bless his heart, Dad knew this about himself and joked about it, saying with butchered grammar, "I are a expert.")
I found also that you must figure out how to package your offering so that it can be quantified in terms of units and prices, and be assertive enough not only to market, but also SELL, which means asking for the sale and closing it.
Perhaps you remember the quote from that great 1992 movie Glenngary, Glen Ross: "Coffee is for closers!" Or the other one from Jerry Maguire, "Show me the money!" In the private sector, you really have to be that blunt and brutal with yourself, because the marketplace most surely will be.
Nobody gets an A for effort. It is all about results. Sink or swim, baby.
As a final thought on the matter of sales, do be sure to check out this classic and timeless audio recording, "Nothing Happens Until Somebody Sells Something" by Red Motley.
People do business with people whom they like, respect, and trust. They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. These are tired old cliches, but they're true.
This is something my Dad never managed to achieve. He presumed that since he knew Psychology, that was enough. But it wasn't, and he had a kind of off-putting personality and he hated the phone, so it was pretty much duck soup for him, a fatal combination of shortcomings.
In short, successful mental health professionals said, "Tell me how you feel" and really listened to the answer. He said, "Complete this form and I will tell you what is wrong with you, and prescribe a remedy, for I am the expert." It flew like a lead balloon. Nobody wants to work with a conceited, unsympathetic know-it-all.
(Bless his heart, Dad knew this about himself and joked about it, saying with butchered grammar, "I are a expert.")
I found also that you must figure out how to package your offering so that it can be quantified in terms of units and prices, and be assertive enough not only to market, but also SELL, which means asking for the sale and closing it.
Perhaps you remember the quote from that great 1992 movie Glenngary, Glen Ross: "Coffee is for closers!" Or the other one from Jerry Maguire, "Show me the money!" In the private sector, you really have to be that blunt and brutal with yourself, because the marketplace most surely will be.
Nobody gets an A for effort. It is all about results. Sink or swim, baby.
As a final thought on the matter of sales, do be sure to check out this classic and timeless audio recording, "Nothing Happens Until Somebody Sells Something" by Red Motley.
Then there's other personal organization: instead of a W-2 and a 1040, you have to learn accounting and maintain your own set of books with complete financial statements: balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, budget, etc. Learn to file a Schedule C or Form 1120, both of which work off that income statement. You have to set aside your own taxes. You have to create your own retirement program.
If you have employees or subcontractors, there's that whole challenge, all those relationships to manage including training, inspecting, and motivating employees.
And the time management . . . you have to block time in your calendar to do what Steve Covey calls "Second Quadrant" activities: important, and not urgent. If you don't do that, your whole calendar is crowded out by the tyranny of the urgent, you lapse into crisis management and your whole business collapses into a tragic dumpster fire. (For more on this, see Sam Carpenter's book Work The System.)
These are things like writing a marketing plan, training employees, shaking the tree for new business, conducting and tracking inspections of both employees and their work, developing budgets, planning cash flow for growth . . . it goes on and on, and is overwhelming to most people.
Well . . . as you might suspect, I can help with all of this. So if you or someone you know is in this position, please reach out and introduce us.
Thanks for reading.
If you have employees or subcontractors, there's that whole challenge, all those relationships to manage including training, inspecting, and motivating employees.
And the time management . . . you have to block time in your calendar to do what Steve Covey calls "Second Quadrant" activities: important, and not urgent. If you don't do that, your whole calendar is crowded out by the tyranny of the urgent, you lapse into crisis management and your whole business collapses into a tragic dumpster fire. (For more on this, see Sam Carpenter's book Work The System.)
These are things like writing a marketing plan, training employees, shaking the tree for new business, conducting and tracking inspections of both employees and their work, developing budgets, planning cash flow for growth . . . it goes on and on, and is overwhelming to most people.
Well . . . as you might suspect, I can help with all of this. So if you or someone you know is in this position, please reach out and introduce us.
Thanks for reading.
