Wade Phillips Fired
by Jay Markunas, Career Consultant
I’ve been a Dallas Cowboys fan as far back as I can remember. Despite your opinion on whether Wade Phillips was a good coach or not, as a workforce we can see a lot of similarities in our own career with what transpired.
In 2007, two candidates were top contenders for the position of Head Coach for the Dallas Cowboys. Wade Phillips, a native Texan, won the job. He was always considered a “short term” coach in what Sports Illustrated called “a turnstile position” [being the Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys].
In 2008 and 2009, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expressed how content he was with Wade Phillips and the coaching staff, “”I’m saying that when I look at where we are coaching staff-wise, and when I look at where we are personnel-wise, I see a team that is in place to compete for several years.”
“What have you done for me lately?”
Despite Wade Phillips accomplishments in the past, in 2010 he was fired. But, it’s really no different than your job or my job. At some point, someone in management will question your level of results - maybe just not as quickly as it does in the Dallas Cowboys organization. If you work 80 hours per week for 25 years and sacrifice your life for the company missing dinners and ball games, still the company will want and take more. When lean times hit or new management takes over, your company will look at all the employees and wonder “what has he/she done for me lately?”
“….but when I retire!”
We were once a society of “30 years and a gold watch” - after working faithfully for a company, you retire with a big party and a gold watch. In those days workers could have unproductive days, weeks, or even months without the fear of being fired. Unfortunately those days no longer exist. Tenure has nothing to do with it anymore.
Instead of making the sacrifice of family, friends, and a personal life, make sure you find a company that invests in their employees and believes in work-life balance. You may not be able to retire with a gold watch, but the time you are there will be more fulfilling and won’t have to sacrifice your life for work.