The Organizing Principle

As a consultant, I find it tough to get organized.

I am not shy about mentioning this, since I talk to other consultants all the time, and they usually have the same problem.

Not that being super organized about my work has ever been a great strength! My tendency is to work in a more stream of consciousness way, which means that I stay open to opportunities that present themselves, which can be good except...when the day ends and I scratch my head and think "What did I do today?"

This is not a great feeling.

So I've been working with a coach. Yes, a coach who is a project manager and clearly gets a lot done herself. With her help, I am disciplining myself to create some "chunky goals" during the week, and to write down the steps to getting there. And this has definitely improved my productivity.

This of course is not rocket science. But it makes me feel better.

The truth is, some of us are better at idea generation and some at execution. And when you work on your own, you have to learn to do both.

I'm a big fan of getting help when you need it--maybe that's one of the reasons I became a career coach. So I encourage all my clients to figure out what they're good at, and get support on the things that don't come as easily. There is no shame in this; we can't all be good at everything. And as Marcus Buckingham says, the more time we spend focusing on our strengths, the more impact we'll ultimately have.

If you're in the market for a coach and you'd like some advice, email me and I'll give you the names of some people I think are really good.

Lunching Ladies

Yesterday I was the lead speaker at a seminar for women considering going back to work.

This was the first in a seminar series called Mind Your Own Business Moms, started by two women I know through my kids' school.

It was held in a restaurant, and there were about 25 women there, prosperous and engaged in their lives but looking for a career to complete their fulfillment.

My presentation was entitled "Why Work?", which I felt was apt considering these women are making a choice to work, and income is likely a secondary factor.

I feel very passionate about women working as a protective measure. The truth is, 50% of us will get divorced and many of us will be widowed. Women outlive men by seven years, and that number is growing. A horrifying statistic: In the first year a woman is divorced her standard of living plummets by 73% on average.

So one of the things I always stress to women is this: You never know.

If you start planning your career now, in a few years you'll be making enough of a living to re-invigorate your earning power in the long-term.

I shared many, many thoughts and tips with this group, and I will share a couple here:

-Figure out what you want to do, what companies interest you, and then find the right person to contact at those companies. Never go in blind.

-Don't use the Internet to apply for jobs; unless you can prove that you fit the exact profile of what they are seeking in the ad, you will be ignored. Women who haven't worked in years and/or are seeking part-time work do not qualify. Answering ads only makes you think you're making progress when you're not.

-You never know where you might find a job so be prepared. Have an elevator pitch, and use both old and new networks to talk with people.

Anyway, there's lots more in my presentation. If you'd like to view more of it, just email me and I'll get it to you.

Happy hunting!

Nexxt Phase

Yesterday I attended a lunch given by a group called Nexxt Phase: a networking community of women looking to get back into the workforce after a hiatus.

The group represents an elite Manhattan community of accomplished, polished, well-off women -- all of whom have decided it's time to do something in addition to raising kids and doing volunteer work.

The energy in the room was palpable. There was a warm-up exercise to get to know other people and then a guest speaker: one of the authors of the book "Back on the Career Track", which speaks to women relaunching their careers.

Everyone in the group is busy, most of them have launched projects of some sort. However, many of them appeared inflexible in how they would ultimately let work intrude on their busy lives.

The truth is: we can easily fill our time; there's always plenty to do. And if you haven't worked in years, you've of course been occupied with plenty of things, including raising a family in many cases. But paid work requires a different mind-set. If you really are serious about going back to work, you need to carve out the time and provide the resources to support your decision. And you need to organize that before you start looking for a job.

Many people have good intentions about working again, but if a real financial need isn't there, the motivation may not follow. However, there are plenty of people who are really serious about relaunching themselves, and are ready to make the job a
priority. I'm going to be interviewing some of those women who returned to work after "stopping out", on these pages. So stay tuned.

Do you have questions about relaunching your career? I'd love to hear from you.

It's Always About Work

Do you find that your feelings about your work spill over into your free time--the time you've specially reserved to relax and do non work-related activities?

It's amazing how work touches everything we do: if things are going well with work, time off is more fun. If work has taken a downturn, well, watch out.

Make no mistake: because our work is what we spend so much of our time and energy doing, and because our long-term prosperity is tied to it, it tends to form an important part of our identity. And sometimes it's hard to let go, even during the weekend.

So my point is this: Whatever your work entails, it's worth spending a lot of time and resources making sure you get it right. Because at the end of the day, it's not work; it's life. And life is indeed too short.