Most people don’t know this about buffalo, but they’re wired differently than almost every other animal in the wild. When a storm rolls in, cattle and other animals instinctively turn and run away from it. The problem is, they can’t outrun it. By running with the storm, they actually prolong their suffering—exposing themselves to wind, rain, and lightning for a longer period.
Buffalo, on the other hand, do the opposite. They face the storm head-on. Instead of running away, they charge into it. The storm still sucks, there’s no escaping that, but because they’re moving through it instead of with it, they minimize the time spent in the worst of it. The pain is shorter, the suffering less.
That image has been rattling around in my head a lot lately as I work on accelerating my exit (I gave notice about five months ago) from the company I sold my company to. I’ve written before about selling my business, rolling equity, and the dynamics of being tied to a bigger firm and private equity timelines. From the outside, it probably looked like a dream setup: liquidity, upside, and trading up for a larger compounding machine with more resources. And to be fair, there’s some truth to that, but it is not all rainbows and butterflies.
What people don’t see is the storm that comes with it: the loss of control, the bureaucracy, the compromises, and the feeling of being shackled (think golden handcuffs) to something that no longer fits me the way it once did. The easy choice would be to hunker down, put my head down, “wait it out” and just serve out my entire 24-month notice period. That’s what most people do. That’s the cattle move.
The buffalo move is different. It means turning directly into the hard conversations, the uncomfortable negotiations, the exit planning, and the uncertainty of “what’s next.” It’s not easier, but it’s faster. It gets me out of the storm sooner, and it positions me on the other side where the skies are clear again.
Running into the storm has always been a mantra—and an instinct—for me. It’s a reminder that the pain is inevitable, but the duration is optional. And the sooner I face what’s in front of me, the sooner I can move through it and onto the next chapter.
I’m now in the process of negotiating an earlier exit that would cut my 24-month notice down to nine months, without sacrificing the value of my stock and maintain my status as a Good Leaver. If successful, I get my freedom faster, and to me that far outweighs the guaranteed compensation and stock upside that I give up by leaving early (freedom will likely cost me $2-$3M).
So let me ask you: where in your own life are you acting like cattle, running away from the storm and prolonging the pain? And where could you choose to act like a buffalo instead—charging into it, enduring the discomfort, but ultimately finding freedom faster?
Buffalo instincts. Shorter storms. Better outcomes.
– Gen Y Finance Guy
