5 Signs Things Are About to Go From Bad to Worse

Yahoo

13 hours ago

How to improve that gut feeling.
I'm slightly neurotic — but can generally drag myself back into the realm of rationality.
Yet every now and then, I get a feeling that 'Something is very wrong.' The few times I've had this feeling, something actually did go wrong. Our gut instincts are usually right. Yet that doesn't mean they detect every threat.
Here are a few more signs.
1. Requests for private conversation
Years ago, I was in one of my first corporate jobs.
I thought things were going fine. I was working hard and hitting my performance metrics. Suddenly, the company lost a key client that generated 60% of revenue.
Within a few months, rumors spread that layoffs were coming. First, managers assured us everything was fine. Then managers said they didn't know but not to worry. Then they said if there were layoffs, but we'd get advanced notice.
Then — employees' desks started turning up empty. Near the end, I thought I was in the clear — until I got a meeting invitation from an HR manager I'd never met.
I got the invite on two hours' notice, which was also ominous.
Still, I'd somehow convinced myself, 'Nah, they can't be firing me. I've been doing everything I'm supposed to do.' As I walked into the meeting office — there were two HR women waiting. The energy in the room said everything.
I sat down and felt numb. She talked but I didn't hear or remember much of what she said, other than near the end, with her saying, 'I'm sorry.'
A few minutes later, I walked out without my employee badge. I quietly slinked out of the building, feeling a strange and new sense of shame. You never think it's going to be you.
Many more would be let go by the end.
The lesson it taught me
It's often a very bad sign if a manager asks you to talk privately, or off to the side.
It's especially precarious if you get a meeting invite from HR, and the meeting has no title.
Getting let go makes you tougher. It teaches you to have a survival instinct, and not to buy into the 'we are family' nonsense that executives love to spew.
Any company can say they are family. But they still fire family.
2. The sign that you should run, literally
In the military, there's a saying, 'If you see an EOT run — run.'
EOT stands for Explosive Ordnance Technician. They're the guys who detect and defuse bombs, as depicted in The Hurt Locker.
The saying also highlights the importance of listening to your seniors. If someone with more experience than you, who is ordinarily calm, starts getting nervous, even if it's over a trivial detail — pay attention.
Their concern usually means that trivial detail isn't so trivial. They've seen stuff go down. You can look at this another way too. If you're collaborating on a project with an experienced partner — don't be nervous if they are still calm and confident.
They'll let you know when to worry.
3. The signs you need to get out sooner
Years ago, I learned from a divorce counselor that the sooner a personality issue bubbles up in a relationship, the harder it is to make go away. This might seem counterintuitive.
For example, if you see jealousy signs sneaking past a person's guard early on, it's probably only going to get worse. The problem is that people who are jealous, angry, or unstable, are not that way because of the relationship.
They're that way because it's who they are. Studies have shown that these traits are often genetic and also encoded in childhood. They don't just flip and change on a whim. You have to chip them out of concrete (figuratively speaking).
Nobody ever wakes up and says, 'Hey, I want to date a possessive, unstable tyrant.' It happens because people don't see it until it's too late.
If character flaws start bubbling up early on, don't sell yourself that tacky line, 'I can change him!'
Eventually, you'll find yourself doing things not to make someone happy, but to avoid making them angry.
And that's when you know you're in a dark place.
4. Signs you are about to get sucker punched
I worked as a bouncer and learned a ton about fights and de-escalating them. For the record, I didn't last long as a bouncer.
I'm not some tough guy. I only got the job because I'm a larger guy.
Here's what I learned
If someone is in your face, angry, and overcome with emotion —you are always at risk of being sucker punched — full stop. The biggest danger is that they are too close.
Things trend worse if they're repeating themselves over and over. It means adrenaline has hijacked their brain. They're on the verge of sucker punching you.
There's no way to predict a sucker punch. They are all different. Sometimes he looks away first. Sometimes he looks at the ground. Other times, they look right at you.
There's an old saying by Bruce Lee, 'Never take your eye off your opponent, even when you are bowing.'
If they are yelling and aggressive, keep them at arm's length. That's the best thing you can do, and just reiterate that you can't let them get that close to you.
But be willing to walk away. One of the most dangerous things you can do is get into a street fight. To you, it might be a street fight. To them, it might be much more.
You win every street fight you avoid.
5. The signs your company is in trouble
Years after I was laid off, I wisened up. I noticed something important for job security.
After I moved up as a financial analyst, I was able to sit in on executive meetings. These meetings gave full visibility into the health of the company. These executives saw trouble long before most of the grunts did.
If your COO, CFO, and CMO, all suddenly leave within a few months of each other — that's generally a very bad signal. In stock trading, executive turnover is an actual sign analysts use to downgrade a company.
Most executives are competent and high performers. They don't suddenly lose their touch en masse and get pushed out.
They know something is wrong and see trouble on the horizon first. You should too.
Recap for memory: 5 signs things are about to get worse
Someone who knows more is getting concerned (or runs).
Top-level executives are fleeing the company en masse.
You are asked to speak privately by your superior.
An aggressor has lost control of their emotions and is repeating themselves.
A new person you've just begun dating starts showing character flaws (jealousy, anger).
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