Written by Linda Plater for Canoe publishing
October 8, 2000

"The Closer You Get to the Top the Closer You Get to the Door"

How many years have you spent at your current job? Is it a place that you want to stay for your entire career, a place where you aspire to reach the top? If so, you might find yourself spending more and more time at work, taking on increasingly difficult challenges in order to prove yourself worthy of a top job. But as you climb the corporate ladder you may find that there are fewer positions at the top and even fewer where you might want to work. All too often, workers who have "done it all" find that they're heading for the door instead of advancing up the ranks.

This is exactly what Pete Elliott, veteran employee at Imperial Oil did. With close to twenty years under his belt he left his recent position as Fixed Assets Leader responsible for the whole of Imperial's Fixed Assets, accounts of 15 billion. Although he had an extremely positive experience at Imperial Oil, Elliott was ready for a change. He had progressed up the corporate ladder better than most, weathering significant change including eye-opening mergers and corporate downsizing. But Elliott would no longer continue with the company where he'd spent his entire career.

From the beginning of his career in 1980, Elliott thought he'd stay at Esso for life. Over time though, he discovered that he was not like a lot of his competition also climbing the corporate ladder. His number one priority was the interest of his team's well-being while other executives had different priorities in mind.

As the years went on, Elliott gained knowledge and experience. He says, "I realized that there was a market for me outside of 'Mother Esso'." His wife Carol's accounting practice was thriving; she even had to turn away potential clients. Together Carol and Pete soul-searched for months and decided that it would be best for Pete to leave Imperial. This summer he left the great pay and benefit program behind and shed what he referred to as the "golden handcuffs".

Although Pete intended to retire from Esso at 55, he, like many others has left a corporate job in his early 40s. His new firm's market research turned up evidence that Calgary's Elliott & Company would be in a more favourable position in a few years. Quite possibly, Pete may find that he doesn't want to retire at all because what he'll be doing in his family business won't feel much like work at all. His work will be different from the oil industry, but Elliott is well prepared to take on a new set of challenges in his own accounting firm that supports all areas of accounting.

Elliott and his group were emotional the day he told them he was leaving but everyone knew that he was doing the right thing. He fondly explains that his team considered his departure "as a son moving out of the family home, not as a divorce."