JohnGSelf + Partners, Inc.

VIDEO: 60 Seconds

Got a minute for your career?  Given today’s theme, I should say, Got a minute for your retirement?

“All the things they thought about doing – fishing, golfing, and travel – got rather boring in a hurry.”

A surprising trend is the number of retired executives wanting to return to the workforce. All the things they thought about doing – fishing, golfing, and travel – got rather boring in a hurry.  One executive told me that while he was working, his honey-do weekend list seemed endless. “Now, he said, “I am having trouble finding something to do.”

I ran into a former very successful colleague at a restaurant.  He was sitting in the corner by himself, nursing a mid-day cocktail.  “Today my wife told me that she did not marry me to have lunch every day,” a common refrain from retired executives.

He is not alone. Every day 10,000 Baby Boomers retire. While many assembled solid investment plans, far too many gave little or no thought to how they would invest their free time.  Baby Boomers, you had a career plan. Now you need a retirement plan.

© 2021 John Gregory Self

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Building a successful career in this new business climate can be challenging, but when you add in a myriad of personal and family issues, well, it can be downright daunting. 

During much of the baby boomer era, dad worked, most moms stayed at home and ran the household.  If dad got a promotion that required a relocation, mom usually coordinated all the logistics for resettling the family. 

The wife of a rising star in IBM once cracked that her husband’s company initials stood for, I’ve Been Moved.

Annymous

The wife of a rising star in IBM once cracked that her husband’s company initials stood for, I’ve Been Moved.

Times have changed. Mainly for the good.  But today’s two-career relationships require career planning agility and an understanding of how each partner’s professional objectives could impact the other. If you are in an industry facing market challenges, your job scope has expanded or could require relocation later, tabling the discussion in hopes that everything will work out is a recipe for conflict and possibly heartbreak.

© 2021 John Gregory Self

Be valuable. 

When a company is acquired or restructures and layoffs are announced, employees who have consistently demonstrated their value are usually on the “must-keep” list.

“Value is achieved by doing more than showing up for work on time with a good attitude and work habits.“

John Self

Value is achieved by doing more than showing up for work on time with a good attitude and work habits.

Here are four steps you can take to be the kind of employee a company wants to keep:

1. Build a relationship with a respected executive who will mentor and champion your performance.  Being valuable requires being recognized.
2. Consistently achieve or exceed your performance targets for operations, finance, and satisfaction.
3. Volunteer for special projects, including those with higher risk that no one wants.
4. Take the initiative.  Think outside the box to improve processes that will benefit your operations.

In a period of increasing disruption and change, being valuable is smart career management.

#careeradvice #career #valuableemployee

© 2021 John Gregory Self