If you have burned bridges with people, either intentionally or not, what was the outcome? This question is in regards to a work or professional setting, but personal stories are welcome.
I burned bridges several times. It usually resulted in doubling my income.<p>CASE #1<p>Context: Full-time job as a web developer in Eastern Europe<p>My boss was explaining something to me. When he left the room to answer a phone call, I quickly left the office and never communicated with the company again.<p>Outcome: I avoided being dragged down by work requests from that company, which would have kept me near the previous salary range for longer. I moved on to work as a freelancer for Western clients.<p>—<p>CASE #2<p>Context: Four and five-figure remote freelance jobs<p>On five occasions, ceased all communications with freelance clients: deleted the project from my computer, blacklisted their email addresses. In some cases I communicated the fact to the client.<p>Outcome: Nothing much. Moved on to greener pastures.<p>—<p>CASE #3<p>Context: Lead developer at a startup without traction running out of funding<p>Took a week off, at the end of which I made a broad email blacklist, encompassing the entire company (including many keywords, should they attempt to contact me from a different address), changed my phone number.<p>Outcome: Losing contact with a very well-connected person. Not having to participate in the death throes of a company I did not have any stake in.<p>—<p>CASE #4 (unsuccessful)<p>Context: Lead developer at a startup<p>Left suddenly for several months, after which the company took me back and doubled my pay. The exact same scenario happened again one year later.<p>Outcome: Getting caught in a golden cage. I became something of a prima donna, but with with the company expanding the development team, this will not last. I will probably leave on good terms for a change.
Yes, but I waited until retirement. Sent my former boss - the cruelist piece of scum I've ever had the pleasure to work with, the experience scarred me at the time - a friendly note saying I'm done working at 31, thanks and no thanks to the lessons taught under his incompetence. It felt great, but I do wish I could have been a bigger person and never sent it. He's already failed in his career since then, and my message was petty & unnecessary.<p>My philosophy is that a good person never burns bridges, it's irrational. But sometimes it happens.
Someone was being seemingly overtly rude towards me, but actually had a few-month old infant and was getting zero sleep. What I percieved as being antagonistic was just someone not able to express themselves due to their brain being soup. I wish I'd known to cut him some slack.<p>Oh and someone in the last 8 years I said that I think exploiting security holes in someone else's box isn't curiosity, it's vandalism. Sorry rtm, I haven't changed my opinion on that one, but I still think you should fund us in the next batch. :-)
Intentionally?<p>Quit a job after finding out a coworker had been fired, and that the entire review process (which I'd been pushing for for a while) was being done as a pretext to that. A few more minutes of thinking showed me that the only difference between two weeks' and walking then were that I'd be two weeks of sad down the road. So, I walked, after a cooldown moment in the bathroom.<p>Couple years later I met up with that exec again, and we got on just fine. Both acknowledged it was a shitty thing on both sides, and otherwise just went our separate ways. We were both polite about it.<p>Unintentionally?<p>My last startup dissolved after running out of boostrap funds and communication failures between my cofounder and I. It sucked, it hurt, and it was hell coordinating anything during the winddown. I was too ashamed and scared to talk to him about things really productively, and I suspect he may have felt similarly. I occasionally check up on him through a mutual acquaintance, but we don't talk and probably never will. :(<p>~<p>Basically, the notion of "burning bridges" is kinda silly. There are a few people I could list that, were they on fire, I wouldn't piss on to put out, but overall anybody that I've written off (or who has written off me) invariably seems to show up again, eventually.<p>Do what seems right, be reasonable about it, and don't be surprised if you meet that person again.<p>For what it's worth, there isn't a secret ledger that'll haunt you--in most industries.
I have burned bridges possibly by being competitive when I could have been friendly. On the other hand, it could have been I just didn't speak loudly enough and long enough to send the, "you are my underling" message. I'm not really sure what it is. People in a professional setting don't behave normally though, or professionally.
For a former landlord, I left a one-star review on yelp and also gave them a piece of my mind over the phone. They're maybe the largest property manager in my city and would significantly limit my ability to rent.<p>I also left a one star review, created a mock twitter account, and berated the staff of a local, crooked towing company run by former police officers.<p>At a financial company, I reported my co-worker to the authorities due to a sensitive new project, his erratic behavior, and his public history of financial crimes somehow unknown to my superiors/HR.<p>At another job, I told my boss I hated my job just about every week for a few months (in so many words). Then I quit. Maybe that should have burned a bridge but he seemed happy that I basically was giving him a heads up, and I also delivered the project I was on before leaving.
It's been a while since I last "walked out", but the one time I most clearly remember is this:<p>Informed this guy I was not going to work any further with him, took another job on and simply ignored his emails/texts/whatever.<p>Blocked him from calling me (Android blacklist).<p>I just saw him one or two times, to collect the remaining payments.<p>I've been pretty formal when talking him, and whenever he asked "I'm doing things" was my reply.
Professionally, I've made the decision to burn bridges on multiple occasions. I'm never a fan of the act itself; but I also have yet to regret the choice in any of the instances.<p>As far as the outcome, it's always been the same: short-term loss of revenue, but in every case it's cleared way for more fruitful projects.