Burning Bridges, A Lovely Fire Indeed

With the upheaval on Wall Street, I should just be glad I even have a job, that I don’t work in finance or real estate and that my 401K will eventually bounce back.

And I am. I’m also glad I didn’t major in Business or Economics, but instead in English literature and Philosophy (and to think my high school counselor laughed at that). Unlike economic pundits, the bards and philosophers can give a little perspective to these troubled times.

Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity. —Socrates

Then there’s this personal favorite, which incidentally has little to do with the economy or world affairs. But I’ll share it anyway:

When one burns one’s bridges, what a very nice fire it makes. –Dylan Thomas

A drunk Welshman who died a premature death from alcohol poisoning is not someone from whom I should be collecting career advice. But living a life that’s true to yourself often means going against the grain and cutting ties with those who don’t support your goals – either personally or professionally.

This goes to the topic of this post — burning bridges. Are we for it or against it? There’s nothing like a final proverbial flipping of the bird in the exodus from a bad job. Of course, this flies in the face of sage career advice. Never cut ties. Never burn bridges. You never know where that career salvation will come from.

Here is my question. For those of us with a professional past we’d like to bury, and who has worked for our share of boobs, smucks and incompetents. The bridges I burned were rickety at best, with a few missing panels, and hundreds of feet to a raging, deadly river below. Is it in our best interest to keep these ties? Must we really go back there?

As you may slyly detect, I’ve got some ugly career baggage. I’ve also burned a couple of bridges in my day. Not in a blaze of glory, no egos were bruised or tears shed. It was more in the vein of “You had a good thing and you blew it. See ya sucker!“

Now I’m looking into the fine art of networking and wondering if there are former bosses I want to reconnect with. In short, no. The ones I still talk to are the only ones I’d care to know. Don’t think I’d care to re-open doors I’ve already bolted and shoved the metaphorical bookcase in front of.

But maybe I’m looking at this the wrong way or maybe I lack the ambition to really get head in my career.

Pull out the whiskey, Dylan, and pour me a pint. I may be on my way to joining you.