What I Learned This Week: Saying Goodbye (With a Little Hello In It)

I'm not good with goodbyes.

But I understand their importance.  And I also understand that, done right, a goodbye can be a powerful hello; a maintenance of a continuum of that big wheel in the sky we call life.

Philosophical ramblings aside, lemme put this into context: one of the great traditions at Airborne Mobile is the "Goodbye Email."  I don't know how it started, but over the years, the employees who left or who were let go felt that a "parting shot" sent to all staff was a necessary cathartic close. 

Now when I say "shot," I don't mean that in the negative context; historically, most of these were of the relatively benign "Nice to work here/will miss y'all/here's how to keep in touch with me" variety.

But this past week, due to the phasing out of one of our product lines, a trio of more "free-spirited" creative types had to be laid off.  All three composed brilliant, tongue-in-cheek letters of farewell which, while bittersweet (I'll miss these three guys), warmed my heart knowing that I helped create a workforce that would foster such spirit, even at times of personal uncertainty and uneasiness.

The one that struck me the most was composed by a man-mountain named Shawn Langlois, a guy of super disposition and a pleasure to work with.  I've edited it down just a touch (eliminated jokes that were too inside), and annotated with explanations (in red itals) when necessary.  Take a read:

Hey all

I guess it's now my turn to send the infamous "Farewell" email. I don't have anything particularly witty to say, no real zingers, not even a compilation of quotes. I just want to thank everybody for being great and giving me the opportunity to be a part of the team.

I'd especially like to thank the best boss I've ever worked for, but Avi hasn't worked here for some time. I guess I could send a shout out to the second best boss I've ever had, but Alexei seems to have left the building too. I guess that leaves Lipper... um... thanks... I guess...

But seriously folks, I'm going to leave with one last suggestion, one last piece of advice for the "survivors", whether you be Airborne or TXT-TV:

Try and bring back the magic. For all the ups and downs Airborne has had in the two and half years I've been around, the most striking "down" for me has been the loss of the magic. When I started, people danced around in a bug suit (this was an initiation ritual), we had zany meetings once a week that at the very least were always entertaining, and not to mention the 1001 ideas/games/activities that Dess (our head or HR) would bring to the office. Airborne was more than just a business, it had a special quality that made this place different.

Lately, this hasn't been the case. The office has lost that vibe, lost that uniqueness. My parting piece of advice is for you (and I mean everyone) to try and bring that back. Try and bring a bit of that magic back to the office. Have a "Dress Like Andy Day", have big meetings where you just shoot the shit, make any new people that get hired humiliate themselves...whatever. Just try and bring back the old magic, make Airborne more than a place of business. That's my parting piece of wisdom.

And now, a few parting confessions:

• I've poisoned one of the tiny coffee containers. Try and guess which one. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
• I'm not actually a real person. This whole time I've been Andy on Garner's shoulders in a bald person costume.
• Over the years I've... acquired... quite a few Macs. (This is a reference to a string of break-ins we had)  Call me if you want a deal!
• I often came in on the weekend, stripped naked, and sat in your chairs. Sorry.

Take care all.

Shawn

I actually learned a lot from Shawn and his goodbye.  First of all, in the re-working or Airborne's legacy business and the integration of the TXT-TV interactive TV network project into our day-to-day, we dove headfirst into the business side of the project and let slide all the things that made us unique.  We were too busy to be ourselves.  Hmmm...time to dance with the one that brung ya again.

Second lesson--in his goodbye, instead of slamming doors and burning bridges, Shawn showed a lot of class, maturity and wisdom.  While accepting an economic reality, he did so with good humor, showed that he actually cared about the company and his co-workers, and in the end, left a positive buzz.

...the type of buzz that leads to effervescent references, glowing letters of recommendation and ultimately, another job where perhaps Shawn can actually instill the type of values he obviously holds dear. 

In saying "Goodbye," Shawn said "Hello" a whole lot louder.