When 13,000 people at Verizon lost their jobs this week, it took me right back to the day I lost mine.

Analis Diaz Elias • November 23, 2025

When 13,000 people at Verizon lost their jobs this week, it took me right back to the day I lost mine.

Not the shock, but the silence that came afterward.
The confusion.
The questions.
The feeling of being both grateful and blindsided at once.


Moments like this always remind me why I created Graceful Exits.


It wasn’t a business idea.
It was a response to a feeling I never wanted anyone else to experience, the feeling of being an afterthought in a decision that reshaped your life.


Companies talk a lot about innovation, speed, simplification, transformation…
But when people are involved, speed isn’t a strategy.
Humanity is.


A reduction doesn’t have to leave people feeling lost.
Leaders don’t have to fumble through the hardest part of their job.
And companies don’t have to damage their reputation in one afternoon.


We can do layoffs with intention.
We can acknowledge the contributions.
We can give people a path, not just a notification.
We can transition with grace, for everyone involved.


Graceful Exits was my way of bridging two truths:

  1. Businesses have to evolve.
  2. People deserve to feel valued in the process.


If you’re a leader preparing for a hard season, or you’ve recently gone through one, I want you to know something:


There is a way to do this without losing yourself, your integrity, or your humanity.


And if you ever need support navigating it, I’m here, not as a consultant, but as someone who’s lived both sides.

Related Articles

By Analis Diaz Elias January 2, 2026
A softer way forward in 2026
layoff recovery, founder journey, mom entrepreneur story
By Analis Diaz Elias December 9, 2025
A reflective story on rebuilding confidence and clarity after a year of transformation.

By Analis Diaz Elias November 29, 2025
From Layoff to Leadership: How AIHR Equipped Me to Become the HRBP Small Businesses Actually Need
By Analis Diaz Elias November 26, 2025
The Heart Behind Aligned Friday
By Analis Diaz Elias November 10, 2025
What I Learned Helping a Business Stop Losing Money in Silence
By Analis Diaz Elias October 14, 2025
Why I Believe Every Entrepreneur Should Learn Canva (Before Hiring Anyone)
By Analis Diaz Elias October 3, 2025
What Founders Whispered at BE Fest
By Analis Diaz Elias September 2, 2025
From layoff to alignment: why I hire differently
By Analis Diaz Elias August 1, 2025
Why I Created Graceful Exits
By Analis Diaz Elias July 14, 2025
I walked into a company that looked successful on the surface. Revenue was growing. Teams were expanding. But under the hood? People were exhausted. Not lazy. Not resistant. Just trying to hold it all together with no clear way to connect the dots. One department was behind on scheduling. Another was waiting on payments. Another couldn’t get answers from the field. I sat quietly in a team meeting where updates were shared, but no problems were being solved together. And I realized: The issue wasn’t performance. It was perspective. So we didn’t start with fancy tools. We started with one powerful question: “What does success actually look like — and who needs to be in sync to make that happen?” From that one question, we created clarity. We mapped out responsibilities. We opened up safe space for collaboration. And suddenly: ✔️ Payments moved faster. ✔️ Teams supported each other. ✔️ Friction gave way to flow. That’s what alignment does. It doesn’t demand more from people. It gives people the clarity and confidence to do their best work — together. If your team feels stuck, the answer might not be more pressure. It might be more connection. Ready to explore how alignment could transform your workflow, culture, or client experience?
Show More