TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

 In the top-tiers it used to be: Whew, you made it. No need to worry. Even maybe now you could let yourself coast a bit. Recently the rug has been pulled from under some partners at KPMG and EV. Often with no warning. They might have even received a positive performance review. Financial Times reports: " KPMG  and  EY  have removed members of their equity partnership – the senior practitioners who own the firm and share its profits – and instead offered them 'salaried partner' roles, several people with knowledge of the matter told the FT." The dynamic is: Those assessed as "underperformers" aren't building revenue in the partner pool of compensation. Therefore, they have become a liability. This can no longer be tolerated because: To recruit, retain and motivate top talent the money has to be better than what competitors are offering. With some branches of professional services such as consulting/auditing slowing down in demand, less overall revenue co...

 Remember when Lake Erie went on fire and Ohio was a national joke? And how once prominent cities such as Youngstown were compared negatively to nearbytPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The latter had reset from the steel era to health, education and tech. In contrast, Youngstown seemed caught in an economic time warp. There too were those brutal midwest winters.  Now, given its extreme affordability, excellent healthcare facilities like the Cleveland Clinic and free outdoor recreation provided by the state parks (Michigan charges), it's taken on an aura as the retirement paradise. Also it's family-friendly and purchasing a house is doable. Simultaneously, other traditional retirement meccas, ranging from Arizona to Florida, are being rated as no longer a fit for budgets and the implications of climate change. Given the extreme heat, that air-conditioning bill has become a stunner.  Large one-bedrooms (680 square feet) in Toledo, OH such as at Cambridge Woods can lease for unde...

  Paul, Weiss, once a litigation powerhouse, has experienced a flight of high-profile partners in that practice.  After the firm's deal with the Trump administration to lift the Executive Order but before Scott Barshay became chair, star litigator Karen Dunn left. A number of partners and associates went with her to form a litigation boutique. It's thriving. Now this and it's on Barshay's watch. As The New York Times reports today: "The partners — Kannon Shanmugam and Masha Hansford — are departing to start a practice focusing on Supreme Court and other appellate litigation at the rival firm Davis Polk." Shanmugam has been a heavy hitter for wins for clients in front of the US Supreme Court. It had been rumored that when the EO was presented he argued to file a lawsuit, not negotiate with the administration. It was said that he had even drafted the complaint.  Hansford, who started out as an associate at Paul, Weiss, then went to the DOJ for SCOTUS work, retu...

To get work. To get ahead at work. To start a business. To keep that enterprise rolling. All require networking - that is, the effective kind in which you can motivate other human beings to help you.  But, obviously networking isn't going so hot. Just read Reddit about chronic joblessness and not enough business for small businesses. Either those needing that connection are backing away from even trying to engage or are screwing it up (worsening their situation by presenting themselves as pests). This year, two bits of provocative insight have come our way about this. One is the recent study conducted by Talkspace.  Essentially when relationships feel difficult, Talkspace found, folks are cutting them off and rarely going back. No talking it through.  The result is the loss of what we might think of as our "interaction muscle." It withers from the lack of practice. For instance, gone is the skill in how to assert boundaries in a conversation. So-and-so says something you...

 We stopped the close reading of what the financial gurus are saying. We get it: No one really knows where the US whatevers, especially the stock market, are going. As for the financial projections, including another great depression, they are jaw-jawing about on Main Street, we tune out. We know that they don't know. Last night before we went to sleep we checked Dow futures. They were up. This morning the actual Dow is up.  Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 49,655.58 USD ▲  +213.02 (+0.43%) today April 21, 9:31 AM EDT  ·  Market Open But it would be naive to connect any dots in an upbeat way. Those I care about have been shuttering their small businesses. Too many of those I coach have to do a memory-erase: letting go of how it had been to have a very good job with tons of perks.  What I bear witness to is so much pain.

  Pre-2026: The Haves are the wealthy.  The brutal factors in the current labor market -AI, cost-efficiency, offshoring, plus inflation - have blown that up. Emerging now is a new version of the Haves. They're the ones who can pay their bills on-time and have a reserve of funds in their checking account.  In contrast, are the Have-Nots. Essentially they consist of the 72% of adults in America who are living in financial anxiety and 48% of those have been paying their bills late.  Among the Have-Nots, recently personal bankruptcies have increased 11% . This new category in socioeconomics makes the concept of "middle class" irrelevant.  Smirk. Remember it used to be considered an attribute of being middle class to purchase only brands, own a house and speak standard English.  Well, store private labels are being purchased and served to guests without shame. Don't expect Lay's and Doritos at my Super Bowl party. The chips will be Walmart's Great Value. In more...