Know When It Is Time To Leave

Over the course of my career, I have visited with people in a wide diversity of office spaces. Some of them have been the size of a match box and others have been so big you could play a basketball game inside it and still have room for a couple of bleachers.  Some have been opulent and others have been quite humble. What ever the style of the office space, the focus for me has always been the person.

A couple of decades ago, I sat down to visit with the COO of a very large company who had just announced his retirement. During our time together, we talked about the nexus of culture and strategy. We explored how key systems needed to be upgraded as the expectations of the customers changed. We even discussed how the structure of the company may be the problem for why the company was not growing at a robust clip.

Just before we wrapped up our time together, I asked him one more question, “How did you know it was time to retire?”

He reflected for a couple of moments and then replied, “I knew it was time for me to retire and for someone else to sit in this chair when I realized that the things outside the window of this office were starting to interest me more that what was happening inside this office. I knew then that I did not want to give my team and this company anything less than 100% effort. 

So, I talked with my wife and decided to retire. The people who I work with deserve my best every day. If I am giving less than this and am more interested in what is happening outside this office, be that grandchildren, travel, golf or just wanting to sit with a a good cup of coffee and read the paper in the morning, then I needed to move on.

We are a good organization. There are many qualified and well trained people who can do this job. I am not worried. We have done good things on my watch and we have made a difference. It is now time for someone else to step up and rise to the challenges before us.”

We shook hands and each of went on to our next meeting. And right then and there, I realized I had been given an important truth. I have carried it for many years. One day, it will be time for me to retire and to let others carry the torch moving forward.

This week, be mindful of your life journey. If it is time for you to move on, then do it with grace and clarity. There is a big world out there waiting to be explored.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

The New Cult of the Young

For the past few years, people have shared with me how the Millennials, the generation of workers born roughly between 1980 and 2000 who are now are entering the workforce in droves, are changing the definition of young. Some have called this group of an estimated 90 million people to be “adultolescents,” half adults and half adolescents.  But being a former history teacher, I tire quickly of hearing that young people are changing the world. This has been said of every generation by an older generation since the birth of time.  

What interests me more is the transformation of the definition of “young” that is being put forth by the Baby Boomers. With America’s 78 million Baby Boomers approaching their “sunset years,” and controlling 70% of the wealth in the United States, they still have tremendous power to influence society. From their perspective, 60 is the new 40. And with the rise of technology and medical intervention, this can actually become close to reality. 

Furthermore with more and more aging Baby Boomers having stable incomes and the ability to participate in activities formerly reserved for a younger demographic, this group does not see a rocking chair and a nursing home as the next step in their journey. Nor are they interested in moving into a retirement community for shuffleboard or a daily round of golf. Instead, they are seeking an active and “younger” lifestyle with many adventures and activities. They also want to do these younger activities within a community setting of like minded people. Therefore, we will continue to see the rise in what developers are calling “affinity housing”, i.e. niche communities where boomers can opt to grow old along side others who share a specific interest. For example, this could look like a planned community for music-industry retirees or a community that is designed for retired professors. There will be multiple variations on this theme. Remember this is the generation that created 12 different versions of Coca-Cola. To me, it appears as if many want to retire and relive their college years with classes, seminars, and a diverse set of group activities.

Given the above, our challenge as leaders is quite unique. On the one hand, we will have one large group of people who will not retire until they are pass 70 years of age, some by choice and some by economic necessity, and others who will leave the work force as quickly as possible to reclaim the glory days of their younger years. Whichever is the case, the definition of young is changing and we as leaders need to know that 60 year olds acting like 40 year olds or younger, and 20 year olds acting like teenagers is going to make the work place and the market place quite interesting in the years to come.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

A Good Article On Retirement

The Baby Boomers are getting older and many of them during executive coaching sessions are beginning to talk with me about retirement and the necessary transitions that need to talk place within their organization. In particular, they are worried about how to retirement in a thoughtful manner and how to communicate all that they know and do to the next generation of leaders.

Recently, in the June 2011 issue of the Harvard Business Review, there was a great article by Robert Sutton, a professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University and the author of Good Boss, Bad Boss (Business Plus, 2010), called “On Stepping Down Gracefully.” As he notes, “How you handle yourself during your final months and weeks in power will have a big impact on how you are remembered.” While it is a short article, it is a good one, especially if retirement is part of your future. Here is the link and I recommend you read it: http://hbr.org/2011/06/column-on-stepping-down-gracefully/ar/1

Happy summer reading!

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

The Silver Tsunami - part #2

Walk around many offices on any given day and one will see quite a bit of white hair, wrinkles, and even some balding men! As the customer base has aged, so has the work force. And this is causing all sorts of challenges.

First, we have two problems hitting the aging workforce at the same time. In some industries, there is a strong incentive to retire and to retire soon. Some hope this will result in a savings because older workers cost more than younger workers. Nevertheless, the incentive programs to get older employees to retire sooner than later can initially be quite costly.

With some older workers leaving the work force or being encouraged to retire, we also run into the problem of a massive brain drain. With white hair, usually comes some perspective, wisdom, and lessons learned. There also comes some clarity about why certain things work the way they work. Quite regularly now, I listen to older employees explain how a certain system was built or problem was solved 10+ years ago to the amazement and illumination of everyone in the room. This loss of perspective will cause many problems at a strategic and operational level. Some people retiring should be put on retainer so, when needed, their wealth of experience and knowledge can be tapped to solve new or emerging problems. They also could be valuable mentors for up and coming new people.

The other problem with the aging work force is that many 50+ year olds can not afford to retire. Their long term savings were wiped out in the whole September 2008 affair. Thus, they are going to be working for a very long time, especially if they need healthcare benefits.

This aging workforce translates into many people not being able to be upwardly mobile in the work place. Senior people will stay in order to rebuild their retirement savings. Mid-level managers who want to become senior leaders can not find a space to continue their career. Therefore, supervisors can not become mid-level managers, and so forth. This new “glass ceiling” is very demotivating for young workers who have excelled at climbing up the proverbial corporate ladder in a relatively short period of time. Now, many have complained to me in private: “When is that old person just going to move on? Isn’t it time?” The answer for many older workers will be “no” and for many younger workers the wish will be “please go and go now.”

When we step back and look at the problems of an aging workforce, we realize that there are major strategic elements in play. From succession planning to service delivery continuity, from career management to financial resource management, the Silver Tsunami is not going away. This week plan to discuss these issues at your next strategic review. It is a problem that will grow in magnitude during the coming years.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates # 319 - 643 - 2257