by Carleen MacKay :: Angelica Lewis :: Fabian Lewis :: Rob Kinslow
Based on a survey commissioned in 2014 by Wells Fargo and conducted by Harris Poll, half of the respondents in their study were in their 50s, yet stated that they “planned to work” until they were 80 years old (or older) because they believed they wouldn’t have enough money saved to retire comfortably. Many other such surveys say the same thing. Almost all mistakenly use the strategic word—“plan,” for the wishful word—“hope.”
A good wingman helps you discover, design, develop and deliver a viable tailored flight plan.
Don’t be struck by lightning… The storm clouds of workplace change are warning you today!
Hope is NOT a Plan for Your Future!
If you are 50 today (more or less), it’s high time for your Mid-Career Checkup! Did you know your preferred future cannot become reality through simply hopeful thinking? Have you heard, HOPE is not a strategy for action.
So, why not, go ahead. Capture your thoughts. Be creative, even far-fetched. Let your imagination run free. It is the moment to look at the world intuitively, observe the big picture, make a few good guesses at its implications and then process the information logically, analyzing the market until you understand where it is that you are headed. Reflective learning is an quick path to aligning your near and far term choices. Get started now: voice-to-text note on your phone, grab a whiteboard & marker, or best yet, sit down now and brainstorm on a pad of paper… Visualizing your thoughts on paper helps immensely. Study and revise whatever you sketch out. Then…
Ask yourself the following 7 questions:
- Are you aware the number of full-time “jobs” is continuing to shrink? Are you interested in changes around the corners of your career?
- What does the market tell you about your continued emphasis on the path you have so carefully invested?
- Should you be laid-off or fired today, are you highly marketable, starting today? If not, “What’s missing in your bank of skills or competencies?” Make a list…
- Are you looking at the many new ways there are to create value—new income for you today?
- Narrow, deep expertise is saleable at any age. Might global and technological changes encourage you to discover your own market-driven specialization? Where are you most marketable?
- Given this rate of change, are you investing in reflective learning in order to remain abreast of changes that will seriously affect your near-term choices?
- Have you studied and compared emerging, developing, and established markets?
20 minutes a day of research into markets that interest you is a small investment in staying ahead of disruption. It is time for you to setup your own future-focused watch list.
Take a drip approach. That is, sign up for an email reminder that will drip you news or tips from experts and other wingmen. Sign-up for our “watch-list” of how work is changing and where you might find new and interesting new options. Just visit our website and complete the online form that will add you to our comprehensive list. Create your wing-woman or man
Do you need help? Have you a visual strategic plan to reach your own sustainable future? If not, contact our mid-career Wingman and sustainability guru, Rob Kinslow. Rob can enroll you in our mid-career workshop and help you create your future plan.
Are you a Millennial, Gen Y? Boomer? Are you ready for the future? reach out to your wingman—we are multi-generational coaches.
You will benefit from our proven 8-Step self-development process. Ask us to guide you to what you need to know and do, in order to run your career in a time of hyper-shift. Let us help YOU design, develop and implement a plan tailored to your future.
After all, we are your Wingmen
Look us up on LinkedIn: Carleen MacKay :: Rob Kinslow