The “survive or thrive” checklist

1. Have you given yourself time to think and analyze the new situation (reality) thoroughly calmly and properly?

2. Are you able to ensure you can avoid misinterpretations and have you, through questioning effectively, gathered enough information on how things will be to make a rational decision on what the change will mean to you?

3. Have you looked for the opportunities a changed state will bring you rather than being driven by the fear of negative results being imposed upon you?

4. Have you inserted yourself in the change process so you are able to influence the outcomes that are important to you? (As opposed to becoming a negative, head in the sand naysayer.)

5 Based on what you have understood of your changed reality have you researched what shills you will need to develop to thrive in a new environment?

6. Are you focussing on the long-term or just frazzled by the moment and are you actively planning to ensure your future well being?

7. Are you able to match your values with the new situation if knot have you developed and exit strategy?

8. Have you gathered around you a positive group to ensure you can maintain emotionally supportive relationships during what is a natural period of stress?

Change is the only constant… who said that? Best of luck if you are going through a period of change, try to mange the process well.

Firstly often individuals don’t realise that what they are going through is a result of severe pressure that are creating dramatic periods of change in the organisation.

Secondly many implementers do not realise that change for the organisation means dramatic and often difficult periods of change for the individual (either at work or in their personal lives).

Thirdly there is often as a result of a ‘poor’ organisational culture a lack of clarity about the organisations goals and expectations.

Fourthly there is a central problem of poor communication by managers and the organisation.

Fifthly There is poorly planned and poorly implementation of the allocation of tasks usually for which staff are not trained.

Sixthly There is for all the reasons below a natural resistance even outright refusal to cooperate when individuals are being asked to do something very different from their normal tasks.

Of course residence is always an emotional response to the pressures of change!

So what are the reasons for resistance?

(Note regarding 10 points below: Original article is Copyright (c) 2003 A. J. Schuler, Psy. D. Permission is however granted to copy this article as long as the following information is included: Dr. A. J. Schuler is an expert in leadership and organizational change. To find out more about his programs and services,  call (703) 370-6545. or visit  homepahe of full article can be found at http://www.schulersolutions.com/resistance_to_change.html Please note I have edited the article and added some of my own thoughts on residence to change.)

1. THE CHANGE PROPOSED IS SEEN AS GREATER THAN THE RISK OF STAYING THE WAY WE ARE A basic fear of the unknown “Making a change requires a leap of faith” and particularly belief that you will reach a better state. “Making a change is all about managing risk” which is difficult if we are heading into the unknown.

2. WE NATURALLY FEEL CONNECTED TO OTHERS WHO ARE IDENTIFIED WITH THE OLD WAY
“We are a social species.”  “We feel a loyalty to those that guided us and worked with us in the past and we are hard wired that way in its ‘not a trivial’ matter to overcome that natural attribute.

3. PEOPLE HAVE NO ROLE MODELS FOR THE NEW ACTIVITY OR NEW WAYS OF OPERATING
Just communicating a vision is not enough. In the early stages of the change process you must get a core group of influencers on board with your idea, so that you or they can demonstrate how the new way can work.  For most people, seeing is believing.  Less rhetoric and more demonstration can go a long way toward overcoming resistance.

4. PEOPLE FEAR THEY LACK THE COMPETENCE TO CHANGE AND/OR THE ABILITIES  NEEDED TO GAIN THE SKILLS REQUIRED
This is a fear people will seldom admit however, change in organisations necessitates changes in skills and many will feel that they won’t be able to make the transition very well.  A successful change campaign must include effective new training programs.

5. PEOPLE FEEL OVERLOADED AND OVERWHELMED
A change effort, is usually accompanied by a fatigue factor that keeps people from moving forward, even if they are telling you they believe in the wisdom of your idea.  Upheaval is tiring and people may resist change just because they are tired and overwhelmed. The perceived risk in a changed scenario activates people’s fears and the basic fight-or-flight response we all possess will come into play and fear can produce its own fatigue. You’ve got to motivate and praise accomplishments as well, and be patient enough to let people vent (without getting too caught up in attending to unproductive negativity).

6. PEOPLE HAVE A HEALTHY SKEPTICISM AND WANT TO BE SURE NEW IDEAS ARE SOUND
It’s important to remember that few worthwhile changes are conceived in their final, best form at the outset.  Listen to your skeptics, pay attention, because some percentage of what they have to say will prompt genuine improvements to your change idea.

7. PEOPLE FEAR HIDDEN AGENDAS AMONG WOULD-BE REFORMERS
Let’s face it, reformers can be a motley lot.  Not all are to be trusted.  Perhaps even more frightening, some of the worst atrocities modern history has known were begun by earnest people who really believed they knew what was best for everyone else. Many reformers have created chaos in the past.

8. PEOPLE FEEL THE PROPOSED CHANGE THREATENS THEIR NOTIONS OF THEMSELVES
Sometimes change on the job gets right to a person’s sense of identity and even attacks their sense of self worth. As a result, people may feel that the intrinsic rewards that brought them to a particular line of work will be lost with the change.  When resistance springs from these identity-related roots, it is deep and powerful, and to minimize its force, change leaders must be able to understand it and then address it, acknowledging that change does have costs, or conversely (hopefully) larger benefits.

9. PEOPLE ANTICIPATE A LOSS OF STATUS OR QUALITY OF LIFE
Real change reshuffles the deck a bit.  Reshuffling the deck can bring winners . . . and losers.  Some people, most likely, will gain in status, job security, quality of life, etc. with the proposed change, and some will likely lose a bit.Some people will, in part, be aligned against change because they will clearly, and in some cases correctly, view the change as being contrary to their interests.

10.  PEOPLE GENUINELY BELIEVE THAT THE PROPOSED CHANGE IS A BAD IDEA
The truth is, sometimes someone’s idea of change is just not a good idea.  Sometimes people are not being recalcitrant, nasty, or foolish when they resist.  They just see that we’re wrong. ?It pays to be mindful that a failure to listen to and respond to people’s rational objections and beliefs is ultimately disrespectful to them, and to assume arrogantly that we innovative, change agent types really do know best.

CONCLUSION

I am currently involved with a charity organisation that is trying to implement a change process based on a more positive vision of the future. This change process is being undertaken at the behest of the organisation’s international headquarters which has seen a decline in world wide membership numbers. A large number of the ageing members of the club are of course resisting as they want things to stay as they are and have always been. The process has in my estimation been badly managed principally due to a poor level of communication and a perceived lack of transparency. The truth is (as I see it) that a lot of the objectors have been too tired or lazy to get involved in the process and don’t understand the why, let lone the how of the process. Additionally due to the large amount of documentation many just can’t be bothered to keep up with developments. This organisation is in danger of imploding due to a core group of individuals that fall either partly or wholly into one or many of the groups above.

It will be interesting to watch the outcome.

p.s. If all this change is too much you may need this… resume example

The fear of change comes from our natural suspicion of the unknown or of things we don’t understand. As youngsters we develop techniques to protect ourselves and over time we develop our “success formula”. This formula comprises standards of behaviour or perspectives on situations that we learn will give us our desired optimum result. To be involved in a change process we need to walk away from our own success and do something unfamiliar, a very onerous task. However the risk of not being able to change in a time when everything around us is moving and shifting will lead us to even bigger problems in the future.

As there are no signposts, road rules or speed limits in the infinite unknown and the risks seem to be enormous, how can we cope with (if not drive out) the fear? The old cliché that “familiarity breeds contempt” is a good place to start. The military uses this principle to train troops and it obviously works. The more we practice the skill of how to cope in an unfamiliar or fearful situation, the better chance we have of making our response to it automatic. If you need to think about what to do you will be lost. Example; try to hit a tennis ball while consciously thinking about it… you can’t, for success, it has to be a reaction. Think of the unknowns, speed, curvature, trajectory, spin, bounce, deceleration rate, angle of deflection, racquet speed, string tension etc etc… all unknowns. How do the best performers cope with or in fact thrive with all these unknowns… practice, practice, practice. So what do we need to do, place ourselves in unfamiliar situations, learn from the failures and overcome our inability to function in the unknown.

MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE COMES FROM SUCCESSFULLY WORKING WITH HALF-BAKED IDEAS AND MAKING RISKY, FORWARD LOOKING DECISIONS.

Overcoming the fear of change!

Mental practice, practice, practice… A tip, under stress we are most likely not to ‘be all we can be’, so we must learn to react automatically based on an ingrained ritual of behaviour. Great news, practice can (at least at the beginning) be ‘mental’, as our subconscious can’t differentiate between imagined and real experiences. Reactions are subconscious so we can and should start by imagining ourselves doing well in unfamiliar situations to help our subconscious mind learn to cope with stress.

Another major issue is honesty. An honest approach will always help to reduce fear. Example; in the 2000 US presidential elections both candidates talked openly about embarrassing issues, personal shortcomings and past indiscretions. Why… to remove the fear of being exposed. They where then seen I suggest by the voting public as men of integrity. We need to own up to our personal shortcomings and difficulties if we are to free ourselves of our personal guilt over our imperfect past. If anyone has a perfect past I suggest you head for Rome immediately, there’s someone there that wants to meet you. This honesty needs to extend to our feelings as well as our actions. A willingness to express our feelings about a situation should not be that hard. As managers we are trained to constantly express our feelings regarding the performance of those we lead. Why not manage upward and start to express our feelings about situations created by those we follow. Remember though being judgemental or critical will evoke a natural and often distasteful result and is to be avoided. We are however all entitled to have feelings about situations. Anyone who is a manager and has had training in giving feedback (a critical management competence) knows the value of this instinctively. If you work in a place where feelings are discouraged, all the change management techniques in the world will not help and you should make the ultimate change… seek employment elsewhere. Why… because your organization is probably on the way out.

‘SOMETIMES BEING TIRED, SCARED, DE-MOTIVATED OR DISAPPOINTED IS A NATURAL PART OF THE REALITY OF WORK, WE JUST NEED TO ADMIT IT’. (author unknown)

Ref: Why it matters, by Joe Flower, http://www.well.com/user/bbear/change16.html

The new world is becoming a worrying a scary place for many employees. A large proportion of ‘old economy’ workers who rely on outdated competencies, are finding themselves out in the chilly land of unemployment and at a much younger age. Mergers acquisitions and redundancies are on the increase. In an attempt to maintain the status-quo many seek ways to resist change in their organizations through union action, demonstrations or even by just hiding in the belief that past levels of competence and already learned shills will see them through the future . This resistance of course weakens their company and creates difficulties as modern organizations attempt to aim more accurately and a revolutionary marketplace. The inevitable outcome is that rather than managing/coping with change in a gradual and positive fashion these same people often end up at the sudden and violent end of a takeover (or bankruptcy) and they are then forced to make radical changes in a hostile environment.

Those who do not share what is becoming an increasingly powerful vision of the future are attempting to fight the world’s current (and inevitable) direction, much as many ‘scared’ generations of resistors have done throughout history. More than at any time in the past we are seeing the demise of inept, slow moving, old style, governments, associations and of course corporations. To use just a few examples, old style American manufacturers, Japanese Manufacturers, Greek, Spanish and Italian Governments and of course many ex Arab Governments. Even on a regional scale ‘old Europe’ seems to need to break their own Euro-zone rules due to resistance by the local old thinkers unable to embrace new market realities. The most highly publicized resistance to change can be observed as crowds gather when world trade organization and international banking institutions meet to discuss the future of ‘the global village’.

In 1633 Galileo was denounced by the Inquisition and forced to recant his belief in Copernican theory… however…

THE SUN WOULD NEVER REVOLVE AROUND THE EARTH, NO MATTER HOW LONG GALILEO WAS LEFT TO ROT IN JAIL

So what do we do?

Resistance is futile! How many manual ledger keepers, people that use typewriters, skilled metal workers or for that matter floor traders do you see about you. I can still remember some years ago seeing a demonstration of a prototype automatic teller machine and watching fascinated young bankers as they looked at it in awe and wondered what it all meant. Lets not star on bankers, their old style operations and attitude have cost the world billions. Even when legislation is passed in an attempt to enforce better management practices they still can’t change their way-wood management habits, UBS being a great example.

The first thing we need to do is acknowledge that by nature we all tend resist, or at least try to deny, change; we all tend like the old ways of doing things and the comfort zone we have created. Rubbish Richard you may think and you could be saying to yourself… many of us embrace change, including our staff, we are part of the future. To see where the level of resistance is try this game (source unknown) at your next meeting… just for fun. Ask your staff to face each other in pairs and look closely at their partner. Then tell them to turn away and secretly change two things about their appearance. They will do things like move their pens, take off their watch, undo their tie etc; leave the changes to their own imagination. Then have them face each other again and tell their partner what has changed (about their partner). They will proudly boast about a two out of two result and you should congratulate them for their astute observations. Say nothing more except ask them all to sit back down; (I bet most sit in the same seat each meeting). Now watch and be amazed, I guarantee ninety nine point nine percent will re-adjust their appearance back to they way it was before the game started. Then ask yourself are we really breeding a staff compliment that accepts the changes that can take us into the future, or are they just telling us they are change oriented because they know that’s what we want to hear.

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE ARE FRIGHTENED OF NEW IDEAS. I’M FRIGHTENED OF THE OLD ONES” (John Cage)

More change coming part 2…

You as a new recruit might have more talent than existing team members however they have more experience.

It’s a privilege, not a right, to play/work in a top team regardless of how talented you are.

Your place in any team is temporary and it will be in every team you work with, or as he put it, “Your jersey is rented. You’re replaceable”

Developing sound levels of emotional intelligence is essential. “Don’t get sensitive, be coachable.”

“Habits create who you are and if you’re habits aren’t changing, you ain’t changing.”

Never be late for meetings, it shows a lack of commitment and loses you the trust of others and of course their respect.

“Be a good listener.” This is a learnable skill, if you have a problem with it… fix it.

Work hard to earn the trust of the leader and senior team members.

Adapted from a summary of “The Incredible Speech New NFL Recruits Got This Year” (June 29th 2011) – on the Business Insider Website. Read the full article at: http://www.businessinsider.com/15-career-tips-from-herm-edwards-nfl-speech-2011?op=1 where they also have the link to the actual speech on YouTube

Important point: Fitting into a new team is never easy however the tips here and of course the full list referenced above will give any new recruit a good start. I once conducted a survey in a company I worked with an asked existing staff if they accepted new company hires immediately because the company had put the trust in the new hires by employing them in the first place. The emphatic answer was no, not for some months until they had “proved themselves”. Lets be honest whether its formally documented or not all new jobs come with a six month probation period. Guess who decides if you pass probation or not, your peers and ‘subordinates’… not the management, however they will see how you relate to the team, the team will inform them on how well you fit and if you don’t you’re out.

2. Take what you may need: If the company/organization has asked for specific items make sure you have them prepared well in advance e.g. drivers license, certificates of accomplishment, copies of diplomas/degrees, your work portfolio, extra resume copies, writing pad and pen etc.

3. How will to dress: If you do a dry run try to see how others in the company are dressed. If you are going to just punt it (which I don’t recommend) opt to dress a little up rather than down. Clean your shoes well and iron your shirt.

4. Personal grooming: Be clean and tidy at all times whilst looking for work. Having a haircut or trimming your beard the morning before an interview is not a good idea. Its not so much the time it may take, its just that the fresh cut look makes you look at best, a bit too anxious and eager to impress and a phony “I only look like this for interviews” at worst. Trim your fingernail and make sure they’re clean.

5. Mobile Phones: The best way to destroy any chance you have of getting through an interview with a positive impression is to have your mobile phone ring, you must turn it off.

When you get through the list perhaps you could take a look at the Sample Resume Template | Resume Form with Examples if you are still writing your resume.

To continue the list…

6. Email Address: If you have a non commercial email address e.g. spunky1234, lilabner5678, cutie_xyz, godzilla.thegreat or any other similar get a new one that is just your name or as close to it as you can get.

7.  Prepare Some Questions to Ask: Research the company you are being interviewed by and figure out some sensible questions to ask about how the company operates.

Some good examples: How are promotions decided on seniority or performance? Who will I report to and how long have they been here? How many others work in the department I will be employed in? What are the prospects for growth and advancement? What do you think is the best thing about working here? Beware… Do not ask questions such as: “What does the company do?” You should know a lot about the company from your pre-interview research.

8. Practice Answers to Likely Questions: The internet (including my site orglearn) is full of lists of typical questions asked by interviewers. Get a list, practice some answers and have someone sensible, whom you trust, to do a dummy interview and review your answers. The more times you can do this the better.

9. Referees: Obviously ask referees for permission to use them and give the heads up on what qualities the hiring company is looking for so they mention it when asked about you. If the employers ad says “reliable” they should use the word reliable when giving you a reference. Update them before each interview.

10. The first meeting with the interviewer: Have clean dry hands, offer a firm one handed handshake, nothing too limp or too hard, look the interviewer in the eye and smile. One important trick, be standing when the interviewer arrives, do not sit down, a good idea is to read anything on the office wall, vision statement, mission statement or companies values etc. If offered coffee don’t take it, you may spill it in your attempt to greet interviewer. Don’t smoke before the interview and brush you teeth about twenty to thirty minutes before. Check your hair and the state of your dress. If you are comfortable in doing so pay a sincere compliment when greeting the interviewer… nice office, impressive factory or perhaps I like the company vision statement, particularly if it is on the wall.

Once change is accepted as a constant and as its consequences effect us personally it is vital that we seek to understand the (revised) vision of the future that the forces of change are moving towards. Companies that we work for may have change thrust upon them and will adjust how they operate to met a perceived need or desired future state. For the individual we must understand what that future will look like and then align ourselves to the vision or we will be left behind and ultimately ejected from the process and the final outcome.

Understand that worrying about the future is useless. If you don’t believe me… what where you worried about on the same day last year? Accepting the principle (or reality) that NOW IS THE ONLY TIME WE REALLY HAVE and that we must live in the present whilst looking to the future, rather than sitting around relishing the past a is key to our survival.

Realize that the best way to cope with change is as I said to approach it as inevitable and use it as an opportunity to satisfy the priorities and desires we have set. Sure this takes some effort and creative thinking however you can usually find opportunities in new ways of doing things if you are prepared to work at it.

If your company is merging or restructuring insert yourself in the change process so you can influence to the outcome.

Commit yourself productively to others who are trying to solve problems or capitalise on new opportunities. Get on board with the movers and shakers in your organization and let them know you want to be involved.

Learn to adapt… even the most basic observation of nature demonstrates that those that have the greatest capability to survive are those that are most adaptable.

Develop a greater range of competences. The days of just being the best ‘technician’ (engineer) are long gone. Even if you do have an engineering degree limiting yourself to one discipline is dangerous due to the rapid change in technologies and the ever changing priorities of society and business.

Think about the broader issues and needs of the role you fulfill. During a restructure would you choose for example the accountant with problem solving and team building skills or just the ‘best’ at accounting?

Seek new experiences, new skills, and continuos education; broadly based knowledge and experience is always in demand. Understand that the responsibility for me is mine alone; take the lead in your own life.

The more we involve ourself in the change process and succeed the better we understand that we can survive change. The payoff is increased confidence.

Accept the thought that… TO SOME PEOPLE LIFE IS ABOUT FINDING ANSWERS, IN TIMES OF CHANGE PERHAPS LIFE NEEDS TO BE MORE ABOUT FINDING AND DEALING WITH MORE INTERESTING QUESTIONS.

Do not become part of the “but we’ve always done it this way” group or you will become just another victim, which you must refuse to be. Avoid the ‘grumble about the good old days group’ at all costs.

Realize that becoming a ‘victim of circumstances’ is vastly overrated, as there is always a positive alternative. We all choose the variables that make up our life. No many say no I have no way out of my circumstances, well at times it may not be easy however we all have a choice to stay in the game we’re in or change to a different team, location or even a different career path altogether.

Remember that the most important choice we have is whether we develop a positive (or negative) attitude toward life’s realities.

As I alluded to above… if we don’t like or can’t support the changes at our workplace we can leave, as painful as that my be. If you choose this option do it with grace and integrity as those in your past may come around as influences in your future. Happened to me twice.

Believe that all and every company and/or our position in a company is constantly changing and that it is a natural state of affairs, or as one career advice organization puts it: “all jobs are temporary”.

Honestly accept that you always have other possibilities, if you can do this and make it a lifelong attitude… you will truly be empowered. If you can’t accept empowerment and personal responsibly for “outcomes”, best find a way to leave the planet.

Often success during change can simply be a realization that… YOU MAY NOT HAVE A CHOICE ABOUT WORKPLACE CHANGES HOWEVER YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE ON HOW YOU RESPOND!

Finally, study the industry you work in, look for trends, look to educate yourself in the areas that are developing, read your industry journals and take a general interest in business and the discussions of the likely future state of specifically your company, generally your industry and broadly of business overall. Everyday needs a little time invested in preparing for our future.

Thinking of making a dramatic change and leaving your current employer? The resume form link will help if you are looking for “greener pastures”.

If a survey of employers conducted by Hart Research Associates released Jan 20 2010 on behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities is anything to go by, if you want to commercially focus your personal development program, perhaps you should consider their results.

Early on in the report they state “Employers want their employees to use a broader set of skills and have higher levels of learning and knowledge than in the past to meet the increasingly complex demands they will face in the workplace.”

Employers were asked (amongst other things) what specific learning outcomes (competencies) they wanted to be developed in potential employees by educational institutions and which gives us some insights into what we need to do to become more employable.

The top five (of seventeen) items were:

The ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing 89%
Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills 81%
The ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings through internships or other
hands-on experiences 79%
The ability to analyze and solve complex problems 75%
The ability to connect choices and actions to ethical decisions 75%

Now this gives all of us wanting to select which courses to attend, or which self development books to read or even which electives to study some great basic direction for our personal development priorities. This survey is an excellent look at what you should get ready to provide (outside your technical skills) and I recommend that you read the report in it entirety.

The full report can be read/downloaded at: www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2009_EmployerSurvey.pdf

Completing your resume is a great way to assess your current functional skills and competencies and if you would like to do so there is a free blank resume with examples and samples at resume form.

If my memory serves me well Malthusian Law went something like this:

‘The world will never be overpopulated as population growth is limited by war, pestilence, famine and natural disasters.’

From a personal or individual perspective this means that if you are to survive you need to protect yourself from all these natural forces by astutely being somewhere where these occurrences are not likely to happen.

Now for many this is not possible, however if you are by chance lucky enough to have some control over your existence you should consider these factors carefully.

From a work-life point of view lets see what you can do to give yourself the best chance of surviving or even thriving.

WAR: Often times in your career you will come across a war at work. Interdepartmental rivalries, battles for limited resources, personality clashes and straightforward power struggles. It is human nature for us in conflict situations to seek allies or to be sought out as supporters for one side of an argument or another. Can I suggest if you are put in a situation where you are being recruited on a position, where others are in conflict, at all costs stay out of the fray and remain neutral. Keep away from the combatants and focus on your own job role and performance.

PESTILENCE: The major disease I have witnessed in organizations is that of “poor cultural attitudes”. Every organization has cultural norms that have grown over time based on the personalities within the company and or the legacy that others have left. Often the cultural norms of a company can limit or even destroy its competitiveness in ever changing markets. Our fear of change, reliance on how things have been done in the past, power groups with vested interests in maintaining the status quo and being blinded victims of our own past successes can all create very sick organizations. If you find yourself in a company that is maintaining traditions that are out of step with current market realities don’t hang around, go out and find a more healthy place to work.

FAMINE: Old style companies, working in ever shrinking markets, trying to survive on outmoded products or services will over time starve to death and if you stay on working for one of them you may well suffer the same fate. I have had personal experience with this when in Australia the government deregulated the banking industry and finance companies as a result were starved of funds and business opportunities. I hung on for a few years however those that updated their skill set and changed industries early did best over the years that ensued. There are virtually no ‘real’ finance companies left in Australia today. Much of America’s traditional manufacturing is of course suffering, or has already suffered, the same fate.

*Link for direct page viewers return to main career success blog to check out other posts!

By the way if any of the Malthusian issues are currently impacting on your career you may like to take a look at the free blank resume form and take the law into your own hands by using the document to move on to less dangerous places of existence!

Finally…

NATURAL DISASTERS: Perhaps one of the greatest natural disasters that can befall  most of us from a work perspective is a takeover or merger. In this type of scenario there will be all sorts of misinformation, false promises and spin floating around and you will have two choices, stay and be part of the rescue process to rebuild the new radically changed organization or head out on the first evacuation flight you can get. In the merger I was involved in I chose the former however after two years, even though I had a more senior and better paid position, I didn’t like the culture and business practices of the new organization and resigned. Some of my former colleagues from day one of the merger process resisted the change and were offered a handsome golden handshake. In retrospect I should have taken the same approach. Now you might find this to be counter intuitive however when you are part of a takeover/merger you should consider your future and your options very carefully and remember no matter how smart you are no one is indispensable. I guess if you can maneuver yourself into a position of getting enough money to live and study enough to gain new and more sought after skills in a new company, or perhaps even different career, you may well be better off over time.