Telling people
Partner, parents, kids, current employer. In that order, with scripts.
In progress5 min↓ 872 words
§ Journey
Partner, parents, kids, current employer. In that order, with scripts.
When I started thinking seriously about a pivot a few years back, my instinct was to tell almost no one. The few I did tell, I told in the wrong order. The right order, in the right register, makes the next twelve months easier on everyone, including you.
This module is the conversations, in sequence. Partner, parents, kids, current employer. With the actual sentences for each.
Your partner is conversation one and the most important. Not because she's blocking you. Because the household runway runs through her too, and a pivot announced at the dinner table without numbers is a pivot that produces a panic, not a plan.
Pick a Saturday morning. Coffee, no phone, no kids in the kitchen. Bring three things:
The script:
"I've been thinking about this for [time]. The reason underneath is [honest reason]. The runway as I see it is [number] months at our current spend, [different number] if we trim the cuttable list. The shape I'm leaning toward is [shape], and if I'm right, the new income should reach [target] by month [number]. Here's the page. Tell me where I've got it wrong."
That last sentence does the heavy lifting. You're not announcing. You're inviting her to find the holes.
A few things to avoid in this conversation:
Renew this conversation monthly while the pivot is in motion. Same numbers, updated.
Most men don't tell their parents about a pivot until it's done. The reason is they don't want to worry them. The result is the parents find out from someone else, get the messy version, and worry harder.
A short call, voice not text, after the partner conversation:
"Mum, Dad, just letting you know. I'm going to make a change with work over the next six to twelve months. The numbers are good. [Partner] and I have talked about it. I'll let you know how it lands. Just wanted you to hear it from me."
That's the whole call. Keep it short. Don't take a loan. Don't ask for advice unless they're specifically qualified.
Two exceptions:
Kids don't need the financial detail. They need to know the floor isn't moving.
A few rules across all ages:
The current employer is the last conversation, and the most tactical. There is almost never a reason to tell them earlier than you legally have to.
A simple rule: tell them when you've signed the next thing, taken the next contract, or set a date you can't move.
Three rules:
Don't announce. Not on day one. Not on day thirty. Not on day ninety.
The right time to announce a pivot on LinkedIn is when the new thing has been running long enough that there's something specific to say about it. Quiet starts age better than loud ones.
Partner first, with numbers. Parents second, briefly, in the voice. Kids third, by age, in plain language. Employer last, only when you have to.
Tell the right people. Tell them well. Skip the theatre.
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