The Exit

The decisions made in the first 48 hours after you are told set the next two years. Most senior operators do not know this until the 48 hours are already over.

The single highest leverage move available to almost anyone leaving a senior role is to slow the process down. The company wants the announcement and the signature on a fast clock because the fast clock favors them. Your one piece of leverage is that the clock favors you the longer it runs. Ask for 72 hours to review. Ask for the documents in writing. Do not sign anything in the room. The standard separation package presented as a take it or leave it is rarely the actual final offer, and the difference between the first version and the third version is often six figures, sometimes seven, depending on equity treatment and non compete language.

The other piece of advice that holds almost universally: control the announcement. The story of why you left, told by you to the first 50 people who matter, is the single most important asset in the next phase of your career. If the company controls the announcement, you spend the first six months explaining. If you control the announcement, you spend the first six months being recruited. The negotiation over the wording of the press release and the LinkedIn post is not a vanity item. It is the second most valuable line in the agreement after the equity acceleration clause.

The briefs in this category will cover what is actually negotiable in a senior separation package beyond the standard weeks per year, the signals you can read six months before a senior departure if you are looking, the math on resigning before you are managed out, and the operational checklist for the first two days that almost no one is given when they need it.