My first experience getting fired

 I was fired yesterday.

I received a call from a founder informing me about the decision. I expected feedback, but who values those conversations. And with it, I lost the only certainty I had around financial inflow. This is bad when you have all your dreams and plans intertwined with your work and career.

So, my brain spent the day and most of the night musing over how we got here. Sometimes, I blamed myself; sometimes, I blamed the company. After all, it had to be someone's fault. And there are so many possible combinations that I finally began to write down everything I thought I wanted to remember and hold on - for my career changes and life situations.

1. My writing skills: I want to say it out loud - my writing skills are not excellent. I prioritize expressing complex ideas over being grammatically correct. Once in a while, the thoughts go faster, and my writing ends up with a few typos here and there. Now, when it comes to leading marketing, this is unacceptable, and I understand this will be my enemy in times to come, and there is no other way but to get sharper and better at it. A seemingly little thing can evolve into something significant. For a marketer, every post and every communication needs to be handled like their life depends on it. However minor, a single point of infliction can cause immense dissatisfaction amongst the leadership team.

2. "Marketing is content" trap: Many founders, esp. first-time ones, think creating content is what marketing is about; rarely, they understand the complexity of targeted distribution and channels. A good content engine is demanding and needs to be built on good inputs. Garbage in, garbage out - holds true for marketing as well. A> Central Positioning B> Brand Tone C> Targeting D> Distribution. CEOs do not want to spend time "establishing" what the position is. It is instead a marketing effort to get down to those things and make everyone agree to them. 

3. Disagreements: Sometimes, one can and should disagree or propose ideas. Helping everyone see through a different lens is a perspective changer. Larger objectives must be set in stone, and no one should change that. However, a culture of constructive criticism is the responsibility of the executives and management. Alternative ideas should be encouraged. The verdict on someone proposing an alternative idea cannot be that they do not understand the core ideas.

4. Speed of delivery and proactiveness: A perceived proactiveness helps create an image of someone willing to deliver and someone who is immersed. Sometimes, for whatever reason, delivery is slower or delayed, and maybe that builds into an impression of someone who is not delivering or is unable to deliver. And this is a trap. One must devise ways to be self-sufficient to work on a few things and shout for the necessities needed for the rest.

Things to ask founders/CEOs to agree on before:

1. My social media is not yours. I will not paint it with your colors or your words.  

2. Here is a sample of what I can do. My strengths and my weaknesses. The support I will need.

3. Let us agree on the objectives for the next 3 months. vs 12months. Let us set this in stone, shake hands, and let us stay accountable while I deliver only on this and this alone.  

4. How much independent decision and control on the brand do I get vs. the executive team?

Processing emotions is the easy part. I am currently struggling with failing to reason with it. I could sense the dissonance, but how was I so oblivious to the far-reaching effect this could have? 

I needed to pen this down to give these thoughts their own consideration and move on. I am looking for multiple possibilities, and I will soon be able to be excited about what I can do.