TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

It's now a what-everyone-knows: It's rarely good work per se that gets you to the big titles, big influence and big bucks of a Kathy Ruemmler, Brad Karp, Leon Black and even myriad contract players. Nonono. What counts is the sustained ability to develop new business and prevent churn among current clients/customers.  That explains what Ankush Khardori describes in The New York Times  as the:  " ... gravitational pull of his [Jeffrey Epstein's] rarefied social network." In this particular case, Khardoni is discussing the motivation of Ruemmler to launch and cultivate a relationship with Epstein. Sure, there was the pedophile's documented charm. But there are plenty of charmers out there. Unless they can provide what Epstein could and sometimes would they wouldn't merit the careful care and feeding that some of the most ambitious in professional life had conducted. Epstein had the connections. Through them they hoped to bring in new business and create the...

 Just when we assumed weighty financial issues were cooling the heat on the tedious fallout from Jeffrey Epstein associations, we might be returning to the hardening of outrage and punishment. For example, the knock is being put on Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon for requesting Close Friend of Jeffrey Kathy Ruemmler to stay on. That's both internal and external. FT tells the internal piece. Bloomberg Law reports on an external development, which could pick up momentum: "David Solomon’s decision to keep Kathryn Ruemmler at the bank once she steps down as its general counsel 'calls into question' the CEO’s 'professional judgement and fitness to continue leading ...' Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, both Democrats, wrote in a letter to the executive ..." Today Bill Gates is also being "grilled" (term used by broadcast news media) in Congress about his relationship with Epstein. Lots has tumbled out such as the admissi...

For reasons I'm still trying to figure out, youth is seeking out Boomers like myself for career guidance. When I entered intuitive coaching/tarot reading full-time I assumed my target market was restricted to the over-50. Well, currently I provide more and more complimentary coffee chats to college students and 20-something career-changers. To my surprise, despite all the media coverage of how AI is eliminating content-creation slots, they light up when telling me this: I love writing.  They know that I had had a lucrative high-profile career in creating content, all kinds. The assumption is that I will be resonate with their obvious. Gently, I lay out how the Law of Supply and Demand has been operating. Content creation is a declining sector. Parts of that have been going on for a while. Back post-Enron speechwriting collapsed. But some in that category retrained for researching and providing content for slide decks. Those were becoming standard for everything from board presentat...

 Communications professionals essentially blew off ChatGPT when it had been released in November 2022. Not a threat, they figured. That was primarily because the tone and content were, well, disembodied. That meant what humans brought to messaging of all kinds wouldn't be sidelined by AI.  Now, those of us who are heavy users (maybe downright addicts) of ChatGPT might be put off because its tone and content are all-too-human. Like so  many in our commercial lives ChatGPT sucks up relentlessly. For instance, it often responds to my prompt with: That's a very good question What insight you have If you want to know more, I can ... In addition, since ChatGPT has a memory function it will loop me back to earlier prompts and connect the dots for me - almost the way humans finish our sentences. Typical is: Since you asked about average water billing in Tulsa, Oklahoma, would you like me to calculate that for Conway, Arkansas. I was exploring relocating to a LCOL area. Accuracy? ...

In the late 1990s, management consultant Tom Peters explained the importance of self-branding. Creating/promoting a brand was not only critical for PG and GM. You also had to be a brand. That piece of career advice went by the title The Brand Called You. That's even more essential currently.  The labor market has become binary: stars and all the rest. All the rest are expendable. Or not even needed in the first place. In my coaching I warn young people and career-changers not to enter a line of work in which they can't stand out, twinkling brightly. However, the growing wrench in the works on that is that too many of those looking for work - full-time, part-time, contract - are out there with an obsolete brand. I have reviewed a large number of LinkedIn profiles for those in communications. The skills they highlight are not in high demand. They include: Journalism Story-telling Content-creation SEO (search engine optimization) Graphic design. In demand in communications are: Cr...

  Throughout the Fortune 500, human talent has been losing its value. In professional services, such as law, the value and price of that talent keep escalating. The game in large law firms is to recruit, retain and motivate that talent. So, it's a sign that Paul, Weiss is emerging from the residue of the Trump dealmaking and distraction of the Epstein fallout. It has been acquiring some top talent.  Recently in the US the star hires range from Trent Bridges , energy M&A Houston, to Daniel Zygielbaum , tax matters in DC. With Paul, Weiss's bulging war chest there could be lots more big-name partner acquisitions. It's not a stretch to size up Big Law as binary: stars and all the rest. The latter are increasingly expendable.  Eventually large law firms could reconfigure from the pyramid, with tons of worker bees at the bottom, to the diamond. The structure will have only a handful at the bottom, seasoned midlevels in the middle and a small pool of partners at the top. T...