Binod Shankar, CFA, The Art of Quitting to Win
Binod Shankar, CFA, is the author of “Let’s Get Real: 42 Tips for the Stuck Manager.” Sometimes, quitting is the right thing to do, whether it is leaving a city, a relationship, or even a career. As an executive coach, Shankar often encounters major issues with giving up on a career, even one that has grown stale and unfulfilling.
He finds that people can hang on for years, or even decades, after they should have thrown in the towel. He lists several common reasons for this career inertia:
- No one wants to be seen as a loser. There is a fear that quitting implies failure, while persisting indicates success.
- Belief in an imminent greater success in the current career.
- Uncertainty about the future after quitting and the fear of exiting comfort zones.
- Fear of having wasted time and effort invested in the existing career path.
Shankar acknowledges that these concerns are valid, but he offers an alternative perspective: quitting can have an upside. He draws from his personal experience of successfully “quitting to win” multiple times throughout his life. He shares six perspectives inspired by finance principles that can help professionals reassess their career and make the decision to quit:
- The Sunk-Cost Fallacy: The emotional attachment to historic sunk costs should not hold back a decision to quit, just as in finance where future forecasts matter more than past spending.
- The Opportunity Cost Alternative: Every day spent in the current career is a lost opportunity to build a career in a different, potentially more rewarding, field.
- The Time Value of Money: A career switch may result in additional financial benefits in the long run, despite initial declines in income.
- The Risk–Return Paradigm: The potential return from a career switch should be considered along with the associated risks.
- The Cut Your Losses Proposition: Holding onto a stagnant career can be like holding onto losing stocks, with the opportunity to reallocate resources to higher-performing opportunities.
- The Regret Bill Factor: Considering the risk of regret in the future, imagining oneself at an advanced age looking back on the decision to quit can provide clarity.
Shankar concludes by emphasizing the importance of personal values, transferable skills, and entrepreneurship mindset when considering a career change. It is critical to have the right perspective in order to make an informed decision about quitting to win.