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Work Proposal from Former Boss


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A recent former boss of mine and I have both left the organization in which we worked together for a few years. He didn't hire me, but inherited me later. He left that organization shortly after I did.

 

He's now working in consulting and contacted me recently about serving as a member of the board of directors of one of his client companies. Usually, when a company in a heavily regulated industry is seeking outside (not full-time management) directors, and has a management consulting firm finding those board members, it's because they're facing some kind of enforcement action or they have a significant problem with internal/external ethics.

 

I'm interested in the opportunity, but I'm not sure I trust my former boss to be straight about the situation. He and I had a good working relationship, but I have an open lawsuit against the entity for which he and I both worked. He is named in my lawsuit, not as a co-defendant, but as someone who took actions that violated the law and that harmed me. I don't blame him personally; it was an organization with a many bad internal policies and inept or malicious people in administrative functions.

 

Outside directors of companies with publicly-traded shares typically get paid well for their time, and the time commitment would depend on the situation and the committees of the board that I'd chair or on which I'd serve. It should never be full-time work. They should have a decent liability policy to cover directors and officers. It's certain to be a legitimate business, even if it's an industry with a generally poor reputation for its business practices over the past 7-10 years.

 

I realize that LS members can't help me decide whether to pursue a board membership with a public company. However, has anyone ever "done new business" with a former boss who was on the wrong side of past shady dealings, and had the new arrangement work out well?

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I've never had a shady boss who later stopped being shady. 'It's business not personal' is the quote that comes to mind.

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GorillaTheater

In my line of work, plenty of trouble comes along of its own accord. There's rarely a good reason to seek it out.

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I think it's strange that this former coworker would reach out to you, since you're on the other side of a lawsuit. I would never seek to do business of any kind with anyone having to do with a lawsuit against me or a former employer. I think you should question why your former coworker sought you out for this "opportunity." It seems really suspect.

 

Since you have an open lawsuit, surely you have a lawyer you can ask about this and whether it would be a good idea to pursue this "job opportunity" or not.

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I think it's strange that this former coworker would reach out to you, since you're on the other side of a lawsuit. I would never seek to do business of any kind with anyone having to do with a lawsuit against me or a former employer. I think you should question why your former coworker sought you out for this "opportunity." It seems really suspect.

 

Since you have an open lawsuit, surely you have a lawyer you can ask about this and whether it would be a good idea to pursue this "job opportunity" or not.

 

We're not on opposite sides of a lawsuit - I'm the plaintiff and the former employing entity is the defendant. Like me, my former boss who contacted me no longer works for the entity either. Both of these facts are in my posting. He wasn't treated well there either, and if he has his own lawsuit against the company, then arguably we're on the same side. If he didn't also sue, it'd most likely be because it's expensive to do, and he wanted to move on with his life and career.

 

We're both high performing professionals who've served as senior officers of global companies in the same industry, each with decades of experience. He and I didn't work together for long, but I respect his history of accomplishments and he respects mine. There's nothing suspicious about this.

 

Members of corporate boards come from one of three places: shareholders in that company; senior management of the company; or prominent professionals not in direct competition with the company. In this case, I'd fall in to that third category.

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I don't know if I'd turn it down BUT I would be prepared for it to be a trap. could be your former boss likes you respects your expertise and work ethic etc. Etc. Could be he thinks you're expendable and that's why he reached out.

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