SPAT-OUT

This book was not supposed to be written. This book was not part of my "Mid-Fifties Plan". I did not have pages of notes or an outline built for this book, when I was called into a meeting with HR. I wrote this book, not as a rant, or a criticism. None of that helped. I wrote this as a way of collecting my thoughts, my ideas, and as a way of building a blueprint that I, and the reader, could benefit from. The acknowledgement phase, or the Hit, was quick for me. I had been on the HR side of the table, so I knew it was possible. The desperation and stress was real, but reduced, because I had built position over the last 10 years. Position is options. I sacrificed and worked hard to have those options. As I sat across the table from HR, I realized a few things. I didn't fail. The corporate model did. I gave them years. Travel. Sacrifice. Institutional knowledge no one else had. I showed up, delivered, and built things that mattered. Then in a ten-minute meeting, the company that benefited from all of it decided I was a line item worth cutting. Not because of my performance. Because of a shortfall in projections someone else built incorrectly. SPAT-OUT is for everyone who has lived that moment - and for everyone still standing in the shock of it. Most books about job loss tell you to update your resume and stay positive. This one tells the truth first. This one breaks it down, then helps you rebuild with that insight. It walks you through five phases: the hit and what it does to you and your identity; the corporate system that produced your layoff and why it was never built for you; the financial and legal triage you need immediately; the shift from employee thinking to strategic thinking with thirteen specific paths forward; and the permanent practice of building leverage and position so no company can ever corner you again. This book was written from inside the experience, during the shock and insecurity. MJ Carver is in his fifties. He was laid off after many years with sixty percent travel. He started building three days after it happened and is still building now - writing beside the reader rather than ahead of them. This book is for anyone laid off, downsized, restructured, or eliminated. This is also for anyone afraid that they are next. And for those over forty, for whom the standard career advice was written for, this is not a typical "20-something" book on how to "go viral" and start something "big". This is a resource, a bit of Hope, and maybe even something to motivate you to build something different. You have more to offer than you think. Experience is expensive to build for companies. Keep that in mind as you put on your socks tomorrow morning. Clear off your desk at home. Grab and pen and paper. We have work to do.