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You're Fired!

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You're Fired!

A Unique Approach to Rebuilding Your Life

Authority Press,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Text available

What's inside?

You’ve seen him: The dazed man in pinstripes standing outside the building, holding the remains of his career in a cardboard box. And you’ve wondered: “What if that was me?”

Editorial Rating

5

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

Eileen Berman uses two literary devices in her book, You’re Fired! The first is a carefully constructed narrative about a fired executive that she uses to describe her approach to rebuilding a shattered life. The man feels a loss of identity when he is laid off, fears the reaction of his wife and becomes intensely depressed before finally consulting a psychologist. The psychologist, unfortunately, introduces Berman’s second device: the Emotional House. The upshot: After getting fired, you need to rebuild your damaged Emotional House, which is constructed with the 7 C’s of courage, confidence, choice, communication ... you get the picture. The metaphor quickly becomes annoying, since the points that it’s used to illustrate are self-evident. Much more valuable are the self-quizzes that follow each chapter, which will certainly provide some much appreciated guidance to the recently downsized. It is primarily to this group that getabstract recommends Berman’s book, although these days, it might not be a bad idea for everyone to keep a copy stashed away - just in case.

Summary

The Crisis of Being Fired

In today’s business climate, executives face an increased danger of losing a job due to competition, downsizing, restructuring and change. But although job loss may be more frequent than it once was, it is no easier. Losing your job can undermine your emotional structure and interfere with your ability to cope and enjoy life.

One reason that job loss causes such a devastating impact is that you may feel guilty or sense that you have done something wrong. This loss undermines your feeling of security and confidence, especially if your identity is wrapped up in your job. You need to find a way to regain some stability so you can regain your confidence - the main ingredient in getting another job, especially the right job.

Rebuild Your "Emotional House"

The key to regaining this stability is rebuilding your "Emotional House." This is the internal emotional structure you have developed throughout your life. It affects how you perceive and function in the everyday world. If you have a strong emotional house, you respond well to difficulties and you feel "safe, secure, and protected from too much stress." However, a real crisis, such...

About the Author

Dr. Eileen L. Berman,  a licensed psychologist, has practiced clinical and corporate psychology and management consulting in the U.S. and Australia. For ten years, she wrote a monthly column on stress and productivity for Business Digest and published the CEO Growletter. She now writes a monthly column for Industrial Management magazine and is the author of Building Productivity: 18 Blueprints for Success and Dealing Effectively With Job Loss.

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