Along with 12,000 others, I was laid off by Google on Friday, January 20. This was actually more-or-less by design. I had already told my manager in late November that I was going to leave Google in early 2023. Here’s why I made that decision, and what I plan to do next.

For the record, I loved my career and I (mostly) loved Google. My work was meaningful. I led a fantastic product management team. A recent reorganization doubled my scope, and I was being positioned for promotion to Vice President.

My plans changed after I turned fifty in September. I realized I’d been running a thirty-year professional sprint: from dot-com startups to business school, the turnaround at DoubleClick, and five huge arcs at Google. I wanted to be more intentional about the remainder of my working life.

I like to do my homework, so I looked around and found an ominously-titled article: Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think by Arthur C. Brooks. That led me to his book From Strength To Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, and Wisdom @ Work: The Making Of A Modern Elder by Chip Conley. Brooks and Conley both said it was time to abandon the success treadmill and find a new path focused on building relationships and sharing my experiences.

This vision felt right. I joined Google as a workaholic so focused on execution that people joked my initials stood for “Just Business.” Today, as a husband and father active in my suburban community, personal heroics at work have lost their romance. I no longer need to work all weekend, drive a hard bargain, or jump on a plane to feel important. I get more satisfaction from helping people and teams explore ideas, make plans, and achieve their goals.

So I resolved to stop trying to be a great leader, and start learning how to be a great helper.

I knew this decision would end my time at Google. The challenges of corporate middle age don’t leave much room for mid-life career transitions. I suspect the layoff tsunami is a post-facto confirmation of my instinct that it was time to see what else is out there anyway.

So what’s next? After some time to rest and reconnect with friends and family, I’m going to set up a small consulting practice to help product-led organizations grow, solve problems, and thrive for the long run. If this sounds useful to you, drop me a line and let’s talk about how I can help. Thanks!

P.S. The abruptness of the layoffs meant I couldn’t say proper goodbyes. A few public thanks:

Neal Mohan, my manager at DoubleClick and early Google, never stopped fighting for me.

Aparna Pappu, my powerhouse ads engineering partner for a decade, made the impossible look easy.

Eduardo Tejada, leader of the Counter-Abuse Technology team, welcomed me into his world with tireless good will.

My administrative business partners: Kate, Liz, Charlie, Ben, Becky, Masha, Emily, Ramiza, and Tiffany. You put up with my nonsense and taught me to be a better collaborator and human. I am forever in your debt.