When does that expire?

Here's a great post on Business Evolutionist regarding expiration dates.  The author proposes that everything at work receive an expiration date.  What a great idea!  And I love the question the blog post starts out with: "we wouldn't drink from a milk carton without checking for the expiration date first. So why don't we act the same way at work?"

I'm totally on board with this idea!  How great would it be to see an expiration date sticker on the side of your phone or PC so that you know when an upgrade is imminent?  How great would it be to see a policy letter come out with an expiration date?  How scary would it be to you if when you were hired, your employment paperwork included your expiration date?

If employees had expiration dates after which point they literally expired from the organization or had to provide a compelling reason to receive an adjusted date (certainly something that you hope your local grocery store is not doing in the meat department), perhaps people will become more comfortable with the idea of reinventing themselves.  Imagine the phone conversations from prospective employers for someone that expired out of your organization:

New potential employer (NPE): "I'm calling to ask you about John Doe."

You: "Ok."

NPE: "We are curious why he's no longer with your organization."

You: "He expired."