What happens when you don't remember to include a cancellation clause in your contract that stipulates financial remuneration? Yup, Murphy says it'll happen. The 7000 person assembly I was working on as the Director of Operations for the past 1.5 years was suddenly postponed in mid-February. Instead of flying to Seoul to continue working with our local vendors and hiring my international operations team, I immediately shifted gears to call off the hiring process, shut everything down and negotiate ourselves out of our many contracts with minimal damage.
Due to this fact, I have since added a clause in my contract that stipulates a percentage of the amount owing from when the contract was prematurely cut short to the originally agreed upon project termination date.
Yesterday, I unexpectedly heard from a wonderful global leader who calls himself the President & CEO of the Ann Chow Fan Club! As I roam around the world, collecting incredible experiences and stories to tell, I am well aware of the cheerleaders and encouragers that have come alongside me. My gratitude to those who take the time to pause and acknowledge those who strive to make things happen, usually in the background and away from the microphones and lights.
Other than the financial disruption to the contract, this same global leader summed up the emotional transition that I've been experiencing since the end of February, "you deserve a good rest and a nice place to relax. I have also been a part of projects that never came to the finish line - which is where you get your emotional compensation for a big project. When you do so much work and don't see the fulfillment, it can leave you feeling drained and empty."
He's absolutely right, of course. It's happened before and will likely happen again. Another incredibly wise and long-time consultant & friend gave me advice when I was starting out, to have two to three, if not more contracts going at the same time. His answer to my question of why, was "well, what are the chances that all three will fire you at the same time?!" *zing!*
Unfortunately for me, the assembly was such a large project that I didn't feel I could do justice to additional projects, so I was left with no projects when this one fell through. It's been a tough and exhausting month, but I have a feeling this is par for the course for small businesses as I learn from these valuable experiences. Any similar experiences out there or advice for the road?
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