In this solo podcast episode, the speaker recounts the abrupt termination of his cybersecurity contract with the U.S. Treasury Department, a process he labels "DOGE'd"—a term derived from the Department of Government Efficiency’s restructuring actions. He describes the lack of warning, the emotional and physiological shock (cortisol surge, amygdala alarm), and the personal impact of losing a mission‑driven role. The speaker expresses deep gratitude toward his subcontractor, ResolveSoft, and key contacts Eddie and Andrea, who provided support after the termination. Prompted by his mentor Linda Farley, he announces plans to create a workshop for government employees, contractors, and support staff who have been "doged," focusing on grief, identity, reinvention, and coaching. He outlines a coaching framework that asks participants to reflect on the story they want to tell next and which parts of their identity were tied to the lost role. The episode blends personal narrative, advocacy for the value and loyalty of government contractors, and a call to action for listeners to engage in the upcoming workshop.
Chapters
I will not forget the night that I got doged. It was about 10 o'clock at night, which meant that it was midnight over on East Coast time. It was a Friday night. There wasn't a phone call. I kind of had an idea what was going to happen, but I I had been told by the prime contractor that we were essential, so there wasn't really any kind of heads up. But man, when that email came in, my stomach had dropped, basically telling us that our services were no longer needed. And our contract was ended. Really no warning. There was no debrief afterwards. It was like we were done. There wasn't a follow-up call. There wasn't an exit call. Now I want to point out that was from the prime and that was from the who we were actually doing our contract with, which was the Treasury Department. My sub, the people that I worked directly for, they were amazing. Now by the way, if you never heard the term doge, That's capital D, capital O, capital G, capital E, apostrophe, small d. Doged. And it comes out of a term from the Department of Government Efficiency. And that's where restructuring, budget cuts, maybe in some cases politics— we're not going to talk about the politics on here. And it wiped out teams overnight. And unfortunately, in many cases, or in a specific case, it was celebrated on stage with a chainsaw. You know, all my life of all the CEOs, you know, I've dealt with 13 tech layoffs, survived 13 tech layoffs. And had been in a company where there were a total of 19 layoffs in 17 years. Never once did I see a department head, a CEO, a senior leader get up on stage and wave a chainsaw around. What's sad is myself And my team, I don't care what you think about government workers or contractors. I have to tell you, coming from the outside corporate America, coming from the military, some of the hardest working people that I found were on that team. Our specialty was protecting your data. I was on a cyber— I was on a cybersecurity contract for the Treasury Department, making sure that people didn't get your funds or your tax information. And all of us have been pouring ourselves into that work. Everyone was mission-driven. And suddenly— None of it mattered. In fact, it mattered so little that the people that we reported into at the Treasury and then our prime never even bothered to reach out except for to give us details like on shipping our laptops back, which by the way, that happened back in March. I still don't have information on how to send back my government laptop and PIV card. You know, when something like that happens, your whole body knows it before your mind really catches up. You get this knot in your gut. Well, that's cortisol. You get that foggy thinking. That's the amygdala sounding the alarm. The science is clear. Sudden job loss, especially when tied to identity and purpose, it activates the brain's threat response. You're not just losing a paycheck. You're losing your rhythm. You're losing your title, your sense of contribution. And let's be real about this. If you've worked a government contract, you know that you're limited to a 40-hour week, but you and I both know that you put in more time than that. You can only bill for 40, but you know, you've got your head wrapped around other things that have to do with what that mission is. I know for the team that I was on, man, we gave our heart, we made sacrifices, we built relationships, and that's what makes the loss personal. I do want to make sure that I stop right here and say that I'm incredibly thankful to ResolveSoft. They were the company that brought me on as a subcontractor. Eddie, the recruiter, amazing. Andrea, Who was my point of contact? Second to none. As a matter of fact, Andrea kept me on for an extra couple of weeks to help out with some other projects. They were looking for a spot to put me into. You know, getting Doge was not their doing. It was part of a much larger system. And I carry that gratitude for the time that I had, the relationships I built, and the things that I grew in, the things I learned. So a couple of days ago, my mentor, Linda Farley, who has been in contact with me as I've been going through and building myself into this 3rd season around coaching. She reached out to me and asked me, hey, have you ever thought about doing a workshop on getting doged? And I can't believe that I had never thought about that. And I wish I thought about it earlier, but she brought it up and I thought, man, what a fantastic idea. So in the next couple of weeks, you're going to see an invite go out that's for government workers. It is for contractors. It could even be for people who are interested in hiring people out of the government. And I have to tell you, the stereotype of sitting around and just drinking coffee, man, every gig that I have worked with with the government Hard chargers. You're getting people who understand process, you know, if you decide to hire them, right? You're getting people who understand process, and they— you'll have loyal— you'll have people who are loyal to you. But I love Linda's suggestion, and I'm going to run with it. Because I want people to be able to tell their story. The workers, the contractors, the quiet professionals who suddenly wake up one day and realize there's service in it without so much as a sound. But here's the truth that I've been able to cling on to. For me, getting doged Might have been an ending, but it was also the beginning of something much bigger. And that's what— if you've been doged, that's what I want you to cling to. It might be an ending, but it's the beginning of something much bigger. In my case, the loss cleared— it cleared out space For something I hadn't made room for in years, and that was vision. So what am I doing, or what do I want this next chapter to look like? I'm asking myself the question, what impact do I want to make? Not just through contracts and not just through getting a gig. I could have got a gig. But it's about coaching. It's about creating. It's about connecting. That's, that's what it is for me. I want to walk with you to figure out what it is with you. And this is where so many people get stuck. They rush into the next job. They rush into that next gig. They go into the next role. And I get it. You got bills to pay. But there's never a pause to rediscover yourself. And when you're coached through it, when you have someone who's going to walk beside you, ask the right questions, and help you see what's possible, you don't just bounce back. You build or you bounce to something better. 2 questions I ask myself, and then as I've worked with a couple of folks who got doged, either contractors or workers, I'll ask them, hey, if this job or if this contract, with its ending, And it's actually the beginning. What kind of story do you want to tell next? The second thing I'll ask, what parts of your identity were tied to your role and what parts are ready to emerge now that it's gone? And they're not easy questions, but they are transformational. And that's what coaching is about. In the next few days, I'm going to be announcing a workshop specifically designed for those of you who've been doged— government employees, contractors, support staff— and suddenly found yourself Cut loose. We're going to talk about grief, identity, rebuilding, reinvention, because the mission isn't over. It's just changing shape. And this new chapter, this new season, it might be the most important one yet. Shoot a message to me. Let's get started on walking this together. Hey, don't, hey, don't, hey, don't, hey, don't.
