Author Topic: FU Money Bluffs Called  (Read 6241 times)

AlienRobotAnthropologist

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FU Money Bluffs Called
« on: May 30, 2017, 07:27:09 PM »
It seems that FU Money is mostly about confidence and attitude, which you shouldn't need a ton of money at Vanguard to assume. Has anybody ever done something or see someone else do something that you'd want FU Money for and then have it backfire? Have you ever been fired or see somebody else get fired because you put your foot down on something or other? I'm curious how much of the fear that people have at work is truly justified.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2017, 09:31:49 PM by AlienRobotAnthropologist »

Zamboni

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Re: FU Money Bluffs Called
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2017, 08:56:34 PM »
Oh, my Mom had an FU money attitude without ever having FU money. One place did just fire her one day when she did not play along with their asinine games. She made quite a scene that day and it would have been an epic FU money story if only she had had the money. The next place put up with her attitude for years, more because she was doing the work of 3 people and they knew it than because she had any FU money.

Mr. Green

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Re: FU Money Bluffs Called
« Reply #2 on: May 31, 2017, 05:21:53 AM »
One of my wife's co-workers had FU money and used it to try and force the employer to allow her to work from home. (The jobs are absolutely jobs that could be done from home, the employer just has an old school attitude.) Said co-worker hoped they'd say yes but instead they said no, so she was basically forced to quit. Not the outcome she wanted. She ended up starting a small consulting company. Not sure how she's doing with that.

mm1970

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Re: FU Money Bluffs Called
« Reply #3 on: May 31, 2017, 11:51:12 AM »
Not exactly the same, but decades ago (30 years?) my sister was in her first job out of high school, at an insurance company. She'd been there for a year, and did NOT get along with another woman in the office, who was about the same age.  My sis was 19 or so, other woman 20-21.

Now, my sister can have an attitude, especially back then.  She refused to back down on any argument, and since she had only been there a year, they fired her. 

Anyway, she didn't have any FU money, but was still living at home.  She got a new job right away, and has been there since.  OH, and the company that fired her had to hire *three* people to replace the work she was doing.  So, ha!

Systems101

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Re: FU Money Bluffs Called
« Reply #4 on: May 31, 2017, 12:15:38 PM »
It seems that FU Money is mostly about confidence and attitude, which you shouldn't need a ton of money at Vanguard to assume. Has anybody ever done something or see someone else do something that you'd want FU Money for and then have it backfire? Have you ever been fired or see somebody else get fired because you put your foot down on something or other? I'm curious how much of the fear that people have at work is truly justified.

If I was lucky, I had enough non-retirement savings to last ~2 years at this point.  There is no bluff here, this was me doing what is right, come heck or high water.  My responsibility is to be a good steward for shareholders (which means delighting customers, et al).  But it also means there has to be accuracy in what we do.  Keep in mind, summaries of these values discussed below had appeared in public reports, so this was serious business - post-Enron, SEC level corporate statement serious.  So I took these discussions and the analysis very seriously, as I could have to defend the numbers in a court of law...

In July of year Y, after being transferred into a role in a reorg and after being in the role for a reasonable time (>18 months) I spoke to my manager, effectively saying "I'm not sure I'm fit for this job, can I get your support in trying to find something new within the company".  Manager borderline threw a temper tantrum - "You're too valuable", et al.  Okay, maybe my performance wasn't as bad as I thought...

In October of Year Y, I received my full sales compensation for the Nth quarter in a row (quota based, not direct commission, but the management can tweak the $ value)... indicating I was on target (and at that point I didn't think much of the July discussion anymore)

In November of that year, we closed Deal E.  Manager thought it was worth $D.  I thought more like $D/10.  However, since it required a non-sales person to sign off on the value, I ended up in that negotiation.  I believe it settled something around $D/3.  (Keep in mind $D>>$10M, so this is definitely material $ we are talking about)

Come December 31, manager, for the first time in 15+ years, did not achieve 100% of quota.  Manager would have, if deal had been paid at $D.

First week of January, I'm now an underperformer (despite growing sales >50% YoY).  Third week of January, I receive worst possible rating for Year Y, with a severe cut to my quota based $ payment.  Fourth week of January, I'm out of that job.  All because, as best I can tell, my ethical standards about being accurate in sales prediction.

Now the "happy accident" here is that back in the September time frame I had started to look for other roles myself, but had not received a committed offer...  but in the time between Dec 31 and late January, another manager I had been talking with pulled some strings.  So actually when it came to that fourth week of January, the discussion wasn't "Your role is eliminated", it was "Your role is eliminated, but we're transferring you over to department T effective tomorrow.  Don't let the door hit you on the way out"

p.s. Was promoted the following year (Y+2)
p.p.s. My forecast was aggressive.  Actual value was <$D/10


Cranky

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Re: FU Money Bluffs Called
« Reply #5 on: May 31, 2017, 01:13:25 PM »
I kinda make the rules for my job, which is part time and doesn't pay much, and I put all of it into savings. I like what I do, and I do it well, and I'll be hard to replace. So, I have no trouble at ALL in saying no when I don't want to do something.

Eventually, either they'll decide to call my (non)bluff, or I'll retire anyway, and then I'll feel bad. LOL

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: FU Money Bluffs Called
« Reply #6 on: May 31, 2017, 03:46:58 PM »
Good topic, looking forward to some more backfire stories.

My first use of FU money resulted in me getting fired, but that's what I wanted to happen (I wanted the unemployment income, which I couldn't get if I quit), so doesn't really count.

Frankies Girl

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Re: FU Money Bluffs Called
« Reply #7 on: May 31, 2017, 04:11:21 PM »
I'm confused.

FU money is about having enough funds and the setup to tell someone "fuck you, I'm not doing this, so either fix it or fire me."

It's not about bluffing. If you tell someone that you're not doing something or accepting the current situation, you are prepared to walk/be walked out. How is that a bluff?

It's only a backfire if you did not fully intend to stand your ground and/or leave if the situation was not fixed.

If you do this without fully intending to leave/be fired, then it's just foolish behavior, and not a FU money situation.


seathink

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Re: FU Money Bluffs Called
« Reply #8 on: May 31, 2017, 04:28:15 PM »
I did this in my twenties. Worked a desk job in the film industry, did a "whee! I quit to go work on a real movie set", worked said set for a month or so, then collected unemployment because filming wrapped. It was the height of the recession so my UE was extended for over a year and a half. Through frugality (no car payment, 3 girls in a one-bedroom in Holllywood, lentils) I was able live on UE easily and to also make my own feature film, star in a web series, and star in 2/3rds of a rom-com that never saw the light of day, and sleep in.

I quit because I was young and dumb, without FU money to back it. I just lucked out that ending a film job is being let go. I did also take a screenwriting course for a month, living on savings, but there was a glitch in my Unemployment when I started it back up so I hurt there. But then my car got stolen and wrecked so I bought a $500 Volvo and lived off the car money. I feel FU success, so this may be a bad example?