How to Rebuild After a Career Shock and Come Back Stronger with Rich Bishop
What do you do when the ground shifts beneath your feet, when your career suddenly takes a turn you didn’t see coming?
In this powerful episode of Bold Moves, Confident Choices, host Courtney Turich sits down with Rich Bishop to explore how to navigate unexpected change, find strength in reflection, and build resilience when life doesn’t go as planned.
From late-night drives and pivotal self-talk to embracing the journey over the destination, Rich shares practical steps and hard-won wisdom to help listeners process setbacks, move forward with confidence, and create a future that’s even stronger than before.
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Why setbacks are opportunities for reflection and transformation
The importance of allowing yourself to grieve, but not staying stuck there
How writing down your thoughts helps release negativity and create clarity
Surrounding yourself with supportive people who lift you up
The danger of staying in commiseration vs. shifting to action
How Rich validated his consulting path by seeking honest feedback
Why the journey—not the destination, defines true success
Practical reflection exercises to reframe challenges in real time
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
“That is a very bold move. That is a pivotal move for sure.” - Courtney Turich
“It’s very easy to fall into the trap of commiserating, but that doesn’t move you forward.” - Courtney Turich
“Enjoy the journey. Don’t focus so much on that destination.” - Courtney Turich
“Work smarter, not harder, that was a real light bulb moment for me.” - Courtney Turich
“Go be bold, be confident, and be you.” - Courtney Turich
“The journey itself is the point, not the destination.” - Rich Bishop
“Don’t beat yourself up over the feelings you’re feeling. It’s normal.” - Rich Bishop
“Writing it down gives your brain permission to let go.” - Rich Bishop
“Too many people get stuck in commiseration, and it’s hard to get out once you’re there.” - Rich Bishop
“You always eventually end up in a better place after the hard times.” - Rich Bishop
About Rich
Rich Bishop is a seasoned Revenue Operations Consultant with expertise in go-to-market strategy, finance, systems, and operations. With over 20 years of experience, he has optimized sales processes, streamlined operations, and broken down silos to drive growth and profitability across diverse industries.
Founder of Midgame Consulting, Rich combines hands-on expertise with a passion for helping companies and people grow. His strategies have successfully guided organizations like Nestle, Nextech Systems, and Biofourmis to improve lead management and overall performance.
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BLOG TRANSCRIPT
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Courtney Turich: Hey, it's your friend and host, Courtney Trick, and welcome to Bold Moves, confident Choices, the podcast where we own our path, make fearless decisions, and get real about what it takes to turn bold ideas into reality. So let's get ready, because today's guest is all about turning strategy into wins. Yes, you heard it wins.
Rich Bishop is the powerhouse behind mid-game consulting and is the voice of the Mid-Game Mindset podcast. He's known for optimizing sales, streamlining operations, and helping leaders unlock. Next level performance. On top of that, he brings a personal, proactive style that makes transformation stick. So I am so happy, rich to have you today on Bold Moves, confident Choices.
Rich Bishop: Oh, thank you so much, Courtney. It really is an honor to be here. I appreciate it, and I love the new digs, by the way. It looks great.
Courtney Turich: Thank you. I'm still trying to figure out my setup here. But we'll get it. We'll get it. We already had to go through one little hiccup this morning, but I appreciate your help.
Rich Bishop: Yeah, it looks great. It's good to be here and chatting with you.
Rich Bishop’s Journey Through Growth and Change
Courtney Turich: Well, let's just kick this off. How about you share a little bit more about yourself, rich?
Rich Bishop: Sure. I think it's a good thing to start with saying that my journey really has been an evolution, over the years. I started off in finance and operations where I really learned what it takes for a business to tick from the inside out.
Then about 15 years or so ago, I made the move over into sales and revenue operations, which has been an awesome journey. I've got to work with a couple of incredible companies, including some EMR companies and some med tech companies. many of those were private equity owned, which was a really good experience for me to learn kind of what that PE cycle is about and what it really means to hit those KPIs that the private equity companies are looking for.
And really understand why they're so important. and I'm taking that experience and I really enjoy working with now venture backed companies as well. really helping them to set the foundation for their growth. I'm sure you've seen this, Courtney, but businesses as they grow tend to hit these inflection points, right?
You get from a million to five or five to 10 or 10 to 30, where in order to hit that next stage, you really have to change the way that you operate, and you really have to change your mindset of how you manage the company. It's really in that space that I really love to work and see the transformation not only of the companies in those different stages, but of the leaders of those companies and the growth that they go through in that process.
Courtney Turich: Rich, I can understand everything you're saying. I'm going through a lot of that myself currently at Cooler Heads. So what made you dive into the consulting realm?
Rich Bishop: You know, it's funny because there are people that really choose to do this, and then I'm on the side of, I got pushed out of the nest. I had a great career in different corporate environments.
Again, private equity owned some public companies. The last company that I worked for was a venture backed company, and they took some serious funding. early in the COVID year, so 20 20, 20 21, right in that range. And at that point, what venture companies were looking for was basically growth at all costs,
We're just gonna continue to invest and invest and you don't have to be profitable, but we just want to keep growing as quickly as possible. And then that started to shift when interest rates really started changing. You started seeing capital really tighten up and the move really became, profitable growth and sustainable growth.
And so the company that I was working for unfortunately didn't quite have the revenue model figured out yet to sustain the. amount of people and operations that we were building out. And so there were a number of cuts that needed to take place. And unfortunately my team and I were among a large number of people, that went through the first series of cuts.
I think there were three or four before. Eventually I. The company kind of went in separate directions and was sold off in different parts. So I kind of got pushed from the nest into the consulting world where I was doing some, some side projects with some chief revenue officers that I had worked with previously.
It just became really the thing that I needed to focus on. So ended up getting in with, again, as I said, a couple of private equity companies, right around that time. So timing worked out really well, and then I was off and running.
Courtney Turich: Very cool. Very cool. So would you go back to corporate? Rich?
Rich Bishop: You know, it's interesting because I would say I really enjoy doing what I'm doing and working with the different companies that I do. There really is a lot of personal satisfaction in helping multiple people go through these different phases. I think. A big part of consulting and especially in the growth stage go to market area.
what the final puzzle looks like and what the final picture looks like, but each company's pieces that you start with are very different. So each one becomes a puzzle that you're trying to put together, and I really enjoy being able to do that. So I'll never say never. but of course, you know, just like anybody, it would have to be the right opportunity, at the right time to do it.
Courtney Turich: Of course, and for everyone out there, I've been so honored to meet Rich through our community, the Outlier project. That's how we were connected and rich. I've really enjoyed the relationship that we've started to build. you've taught me a lot already. You jumped into. The podcast world in realm, you're kicking butts.
If anybody, if you have not listened to Rich's podcast, you need to, and it is the mid game mindset. He has a lot of fantastic leaders on there, and you make it, you challenge us rich. You don't make it easy.
Rich Bishop: Well, thank you and first of all, your episode is fantastic and I loved digging into your story and understanding more about your background and maybe some of those things that, that aren't broadly out there, but just came naturally as as a part of the conversation, and I think that's a big part of it.
I talked earlier about, um, the, the shifts that you have to go through in order to hit new, um, heights, you know, in a company's growth, people go through that too, and that's really what I wanna dig into in this is understanding for those people that are entrepreneurs or they're responsible for sales, what are the challenges that they're facing and what are the mindset shifts that they have to go through in order to overcome that?
And I think there are a lot of really good lessons that we can all learn. And if we can internalize that, we can grow in the process through some of those conversations. So that's really what I'm aiming to do.
Courtney Turich: Rich, with all your conversation and all conversations and all of your interactions with leadership and very many facets of different specialties, is there one commonality you see between all these leaders you're interacting with?
Rich Bishop: There are a few that are starting to come up. It's really interesting, you know. The, the more that you have conversations with people that are in similar roles, you start to see some of the commonalities come out. Right? One of the things, first and foremost that I'm seeing is humility. Being able to be humble in those leadership roles really makes a difference for somebody to be successful and to grow a company that's successful.
Yeah, there are a lot of lone wolves out there that want to try to do it themselves, or they're hyper type A and, and that can cause some issues and some friction points along the way. That can really be a challenge. So I would say first and foremost, the humility to be able to, um, to be able to work with people, to put other people first and put themselves last in some cases.
Mm-hmm. Um, I think really makes a big difference. And then the other big one that I would say is that it's. It's a journey. Everybody all is here learning together, and if you think you've got it all figured out, that's the point that you stop growing and you're in trouble.
Courtney Turich: Spot on, spot on. Anytime I would ever let myself potentially get to that moment, rich is when I get knocked down and when I get knocked down pretty hard.
Rich Bishop: Yeah, for sure. And, and sometimes you slip into it and don't even realize it, right? Yeah. And I'm saying that because I absolutely have been there a bunch of times and it's like, Ooh, yep, you're right. I overstepped there. I'm sorry, I kind of got a little too big for my britches. I need to, need to tone that down a little bit and, and get back to reality.
Pushed from the Nest: Rich Bishop’s Bold Leap into Consulting
Courtney Turich: So, rich, with all of your backstory, it's time for a big question. And Rich, what would you say was that big, bold, confident move in your life that took things for you personally or professionally to the next level?
Rich Bishop: Yeah, I wanna dig a little bit more into where I said I got pushed out of the nest into consulting, because I do think that there was a, a big moment there, uh, that kind of came from all of that.
So I, I'll keep the story a little bit brief, but I think it's important for background. Um, I, I had grown with this company, grown this team had some people that, um, I. I really love working with my team, helping my team grow. We develop a great culture and a, a relationship there. Uh, and I had taken a day off to go visit a friend of mine in Atlanta.
I live in Tampa. Um, so short flight up to Atlanta and while I was there meeting with my friend at my phone started blowing up and it was text message after text message from somebody on my team who's in. So I called him back. I'm like, Hey, is everything okay? What's going on? He said, did you know I was getting fired today?
I said, what? What? What do you mean? Um, and it, I said, no, hold on. Let me call my boss. So I called up my boss. I said, did you know that they were getting fired today? He said, well, actually, we all just got an email that there were, that there were going to be layoffs today, and that there were going to be meetings on the calendar with hr.
And so I'm sure that that's what he saw. Oh, wait, hold on. Actually, my meeting just came across from HR too. It looks like I'm being let go as well. Oh, geez. What's going on? So that day went like that, where team member, after team member, and then finally at three o'clock I got a call from the COO basically saying and and I thought it was going to be okay, rich, how do we pick up the pieces and move on from here?
It wasn't that. It was, yeah, we've made these moves and unfortunately your role has been eliminated as well. It's like, oof. Okay.
Courtney Turich: Wow.
Rich Bishop: That was tough.
Courtney Turich: Yeah.
Rich Bishop: That night I'm supposed to fly back. My flight gets pushed back, pushed back, pushed back. Finally at midnight, they cancel the flight and I just wanna be home.
It was a terrible day. I just wanted to be home. I said, you know what? Screw it. I went to the rental car location, grabbed a rental car, got a bunch of caffeine, and just drove home through the night without the radio on, just so I can process everything that had just happened and what was going to happen next.
So I had, um, been given a, a two month severance and a month and a half into that two months of severance. My wife's job was eliminated as well.
Courtney Turich: Oh my goodness, rich.
Rich Bishop: So we've got this moment.
Courtney Turich: I have chills.
Rich Bishop: So we've got this, oh crap moment. What is it that we do here? Because we've got two girls. They dance competitively.
They're about to be in high school. We've gotta keep things going for them. How on God's green earth do we do? Um, and so at that point I had made the decision, you know what? I'm doing some consulting. The closest thing that I can to revenue to get to revenue right now is consulting. I've gotta dive in. So knock on wood.
Thank God, you know, just a few weeks after that search started, I got a call and it was a competitive type of bid where a private equity company wanted me to come in and help with the transformation. After two days of that transformation work, things were going really well. It was looking good for me.
They pulled me aside after dinner and said, Hey Rich, we love what you're doing. We really wanna work with you on this project. I was like, yes. Great. They said, do you just want the job? Do you want to be the head of, of rev ops here? And I said, no, actually, I really wanna do this consulting thing. And they said, great, we've got companies to be plugging you into.
Let's go and off we went from there. But to be in that situation, and I don't know what it was just naturally came out. No, I don't. I don't want that role, but I want to help you build it. And then I wanna move on to the next one. And it's been a fantastic journey since.
Courtney Turich: So Rich and that there's so ma, so much here In that moment when you're being pulled aside, you are being offered a guaranteed job.
Rich Bishop: Yes.
Courtney Turich: What inside of you, what was that like for you to turn it down and really go with your vision of working with multiple companies?
Rich Bishop: Well, I, I had always wanted to consult, um, in about 15 years ago or so, right before I made the move over into sales and revenue operations. I wanted to build a leadership, um, coaching and consulting firm.
I, and for a number of reasons, that just didn't work out. I ended up setting that aside, but it was always my dream to get back there. Um, and I think in that conversation with the firm, we sat down and we're talking about the strategy of how we actually make this transformation happen at this company.
And it really was from that consulting angle. I was just really loving it, really into it, enjoying it. And then it was kind of at the end where they said, well, do you just want the job? I said, no, I wanna keep consulting. And they said, all right, well. Let's keep going on the consulting front. Then we work with consultants all the time.
So it, it almost felt like a little bit of a blip, right? But as I look back, it was, it was definitely, uh, a bold move to say, no, this is, this is what I'm doing. I'm committed.
Courtney Turich: That is a very bold move. That is a pivotal move for sure. So, okay. I wanna also backtrack even more. You're driving home. It's we hours of the morning. You're not listening to the radio, it's just you and your thoughts. What's running through your head?
Rich Bishop: Honestly, the first thought was, I've never been to Bucky's before. I think there's a Bucky's on the way.
Courtney Turich: Are you serious?
Rich Bishop: Oh, yeah. I said I, that's where I'm gonna get caffeine. I'm gonna leave the Atlanta airport, and I'm not gonna get caffeine until I get to Bucky's.
And that's my incentive. I need to get there and I need to caffeinate up. So I, you know what? I, I tried to make the best of it, of, you know, I've never been here. Let's get the picture out in front of Bucky's at two in the morning. Let's, let's do this, um. But no, after that it really was okay. It it, things are gonna be okay. We're gonna figure this out. I had been in a position like that before, 10 to 15 years before. Um, I know that those tough points, just by being through them, are a really good opportunity for reflection and self inspection and. Always knock on wood in, in my life and anybody else that I've talked to that's been through one of those really hard, challenging pivotal moments, you always eventually end up in a better place.
And so I just kept telling myself that and just kept going through the times where I had been in some of those really low places and some of the transformation in me that had taken place during that time and where I ended up and just said, okay, trust that this is gonna happen again. And this is just the right time for something like this to happen. There's something better on the other side. And then you start going through, okay, well what is that? What can that be? Right. And then you start with the ideas. And it becomes a positive self conversation rather than one of sitting there and beating yourself up over something that frankly you had no control over.
Courtney Turich: Right. So I do need to know, do you still have the picture of you at Bucky's?
Rich Bishop: I absolutely do. Yes.
Courtney Turich: Okay. That is a really, I mean, that is a pivotal picture for sure.
Rich Bishop: It is. Yeah.
Rich Bishop’s Guide to Moving Forward After a Layoff
Courtney Turich: And then number two, there's lots of people who are going through this, unfortunately in today's job market, and you talk about self-reflection.
What would you tell them to initially do? Like what are three things can you tell someone to do in this moment? They hear these words, they're let go. What do you do?
Rich Bishop: The natural inclination for a lot of people is to curl up in a ball. Because you go through the grieving stages, just like you would in in other ways that you go through grieving stages, right? So.
Courtney Turich: Right.
Rich Bishop: Number one, don't beat yourself up over the feelings that you're feeling. It's totally normal and totally okay. You're going to go through a grieving process. You're going to feel bad. You're going to be angry, right? You're going to go through all of that, and that's okay. That's okay. And there are times where it's okay to curl up in a ball and watch a movie because that's just gonna make you feel better. That's fine, but don't get stuck there.
I think it's important to make sure that you, if you have these thoughts running through your head, that you write them down. Because if you write them down, there is this, this ability of your brain to almost let it go because it knows that it's there. It knows that it's not going somewhere and that you can't lose it.
Whereas if you don't write it down, your brain just has this natural thing to, to hold onto a thought and it can grow and fester. And so get it out of your head, write it down. Okay. And then surround yourself with the people that love you and that encourage you, because that's gonna help lift you up and change your, your frequency.
To be able to get past that and to be able to get to whatever that, that next step is.
Courtney Turich: For sure. And I, I'm thinking about this moment, rich. It's very easy to fall in the trap with commiserating with your fellow colleagues.
Rich Bishop: Oh yes. That's such a negative, impactful, downward spiral of the gossip or just commiserating with other people.
It, there's a difference between being able to be there for somebody who's going through the same thing you are and staying in that commiseration stage. Right? At a certain point, you've gotta say, okay, we've set our piece. Now, how can we start building each other up and how can we start to move past this?
Because too many people do get stuck in that commiserating phase and it's really hard to get out of once you've sat there long enough.
Courtney Turich: Right. Rich, how long did it take you to flip the switch and say, I'm going full throttle into this consulting business?
Rich Bishop: It, it was definitely a journey. It took a couple of months for me to really feel comfortable with the choice and the decision.
Uh, one of the first things that I did was reach out to a number of chief revenue officers that I had worked with previously. Um, as a VP of Revenue Operations. You are the Chief Revenue Officer's right hand person, right? Mm-hmm. So you are right there with them. I had developed some really good relationships with a number of them, and if I was going to consult, that's who was going to be making the purchasing decision.
Right. So it, it kind of served twofold. Number one, was there interest from some of those people that I knew. But then number two, is it really to kick around those ideas to say, Hey, this is what I'm thinking. Is this something that you in your role would hire? And if so, what does that need to look like and how do I need to think about this?
So. It really helped me to kinda shape what that offering was going to be based on what their experiences were. Because they ultimately, or, or somebody just like them is going to be the buyer.
Courtney Turich: Right. So you actually, you did homework, right? Essentially.
Rich Bishop: Absolutely.
Courtney Turich: You did homework to make sure this was the right approach for you.
Rich Bishop: That's right. Absolutely. Having those conversations I had, I had a gut feeling of, of what was going to work, but in those conversations it really helped kind of shape exactly what it was that it needed to look like in order for it to work.
The Mid-Game Mindset: Embracing the Journey Over the Destination
Courtney Turich: Rich going through all of this and you said this isn't your first time having an experience where you, you have to reflect, pick yourself back up and realize that you're stronger on the other side.
What would you tell Little Rich, your 18-year-old self today,?
Rich Bishop: You know, 18-year-old self always has these, um, these grand goals of I'm gonna change the world. I'm gonna do, you know, whatever, all of these amazing things. At that point in time, I was so focused on becoming a CEO or a CFO of a large company and I wanted to just go headlong in that direction and do it.
And I think along the way, I learned getting knocked from the side over and over again. Hey, buddy. The point is the journey, not the destination. The journey itself is the point. And when you've got that perspective, you can take some of those shifts and the bumps that you take along the way in Stride and as a learning experience and it becomes more about not, I failed in this situation, but more of i'm supposed to learn something here. What is that? And then what is the next step in the right direction? So it really changes the internal conversation that you're having along the way. I wish I would have known that earlier and didn't have to learn that one the hard way.
Courtney Turich: How would you tell somebody to embrace the journey and not embrace the destination? It's a very big thing most people do. It's very easy to put your eye on the end prize versus the steps that it takes to get to that end journey.
Rich Bishop: Yeah, it's one of those things where I think reflection is important because chances are pretty good, unless you are that 18-year-old person right now, um, chances are pretty good. You've got enough life experience that you can look back on and say, okay, I've been knocked on my butt these times. What did I learn in those times? So in this particular situation, and I seriously sit down on a Saturday morning with a cup of coffee and a journal.
And write down the times where you've gotten knocked down, but then write next to it, write down what did you learn or what good came from it as a result. I think looking backwards and going through that exercise and seeing what has already happened, the more that you do that, the more your ability to do it in the near term comes into play and you can almost start to do it in real time.
Of course you have some emotions to fight through, sometimes in real time. Um, but if you've done it enough, you can get comfortable doing it almost in real time and say, okay, and use that as an opportunity to even control some of the emotions that you're going through in the moment if you're in the thick of it.
Courtney Turich: That's a great approach. Rich. Even just thinking about myself, I am big like you. I am into reflection, really analyzing how can we be better, do better, always pushing ourself to that next limit. I have noticed a lot of young professionals do not take the time to reflect, and I was one of those.
Rich Bishop: Mm-hmm.
It's so easy, and especially now the tendency is just keep moving. Right? Just keep moving, keep going, keep going. Don't look back. Don't look back, right? You don't. You don't learn that way. You look or you learn by looking backwards and seeing what's changed and seeing what lessons you can pull from it.
Courtney Turich: Right. Somebody said something to me along the way, um, because to your point, in my twenties, I put my blinders on. I thought, you know, I just have to go, go, go, go, go. That shows how hard I'm working. And then someone said, work smarter, not harder. Mm-hmm. And that was a light bulb for me, Rich. And I really had to process it.
And it really took me time to work through that because once you start allowing yourself to slow down and really start working smarter, not harder, it's an adjustment.
Rich Bishop: It's a big adjustment. And I, I grew up in a blue collar town, blue collar parents. Hard work is the most important thing. And then you start to realize, or even with some of the, the conversations that, that we've been having here, like you go through this point and working smart is important.
Working hard is important. If you can do both, it's even better, right? But at the end of the day, what you're looking for is the result. And so if you're getting the results by backing off the hard work a little bit to allow yourself the freedom to think and to be creative, because you're gonna come up with an even better solution than if you were to just put your head down and try to knock it out, then maybe that's the right approach.
Courtney Turich: Yeah, everybody says just be. Allow yourself to just be, and that's the hardest thing to do for so many of us.
Rich Bishop: Oh my gosh. It is so hard to just be, but you know, it it when you can get there, I think. There is a control that you can have over even your physiology, right? Your heart rate, the rate that you're breathing, you can calm yourself down.
It, it, there are a lot of practices that can kind of help you get there, but the more that you can get there, the the better off I think you're going to be and the easier it is to just be. We all struggle with it.
Courtney Turich: Right. Rich, this conversation has been so insightful and I just wanna go through some of the key points you brought up today.
And that is, you know, many of people are gonna go through change. It's not gonna be my first time, it's not gonna be your first time. We're gonna go through it again, and when those big moments happen, allow yourself the time to mentally recover. To have that moment with yourself to process and, and, and mourn a little in your own way.
But on the flip side, you can't stay there too long. You've gotta find yourself on the other side, and that's surrounding yourself with the right people. Start picking up the pieces and really start angling in on what that next step is for you. And then last but not least, is enjoy the journey. Don't focus so much on that destination.
For our listeners today, Rich, what would you like to leave everyone with?
Rich Bishop: I think it goes back to what I would tell my 18-year-old self. Uh. It's a journey. It's a journey. You're on that journey today, right? You're at the middle of your game, and this is why the podcast is called the Mid-Game Mindset because you always have an opportunity to make a change and update the direction or change the direction that you're going and it for the better along the way.
So realize that no matter what it is that you're going through, you have an opportunity now to make some adjustments, change the way that things are done, or the way that you think. And you're gonna end up in a better place.
Courtney Turich: I love that. Rich. I am so honored that you're in my life. You're part of my network.
If there's anyone out there that wants to find you, connect with you, where do they go? Where do they go? I.
Rich Bishop: Absolutely. LinkedIn would be a, a great place. A lot of the content is out there. Um, you can connect with me. It's Rich Bishop Two is the handle on LinkedIn, and that's the number two. Um, but also the Mid Game Mindset podcast. It's on, um, it's on YouTube. It's on Spotify, all of the podcasting platforms. Um, but yeah, reach out on, on LinkedIn. Would love to connect.
Courtney Turich: Awesome. Again, rich, thank you so much for being here and to all my listeners, go be bold, be confident and be you. Thanks. Perfect timing for the dogs.
Rich Bishop: That was awesome. It was like they were waiting for it.
Courtney Turich: Oh my gosh.
