TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

It  really  is happening: the fading of extreme ambition in America, the land of opportunity. More and more of the workforce will only do what is required of them. Or what they can negotiate payment for.  No longer do they pitch in on everything, especially if scheduled for weekends, in the abstract hope of "getting ahead."  The old ethos used to be that if we jumped through every hoop we had a shot at upward mobility. That belief system started getting wobbly at the beginning of COVID. After all, lives were at stake. Former global chairman at Dentons Joe Andrews, a progressive, brought that possibly fatal risk to the attention of the world in his The Hill op-ed. It wasn’t much of a stretch for workforces eventually to connect the dots on the myriad other tradeoffs which go into earning a living. The ultimate Ah-Ha – and which is popping up all over currently – is that there are certain things which should not be required just to get a paycheck. And, by the ...

  The 1% aren't doing too hot. The 8.8 Billion Dollar Man Leon Black has fallen from grace. A comeback doesn’t look promising. Overall, that demographic has lost lots of money. On Wall Street they are losing their jobs. Also, as used-everything has become  the  fashion, their designer-everything seems, well, too stylized.  So in is the blue-collar ethos. Or the working-class take on making ends meet. My career coaching clients who are thriving are totally devoid of the trappings of the white-collar professional class. They talk straight. They know the boss is The Man. And they have no illusion about how little most advanced degrees can get them in pay and financial security. Their mindset is certifications. Also, there's the reasonable investment for training for blue-collar career paths such as long-distance driving.  Think about it. Al Sharpton won our hearts during the George Floyd memorial. He focused on growing up with roaches. That is a unive...

"The suspect [Bryan Kohberger] arrested  in connection with the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho college students  once studied how emotions affect why people decide to commit crimes." -  Insider , December 30, 2022 In this saga the world could be reaching back to the classic Russian novel "Crime and Punishment." In it the protagonist Raskolnikov is, like Kohberger, a former student and is interested in abstractions. Rask had a hypothesis that some in society had a right to murder. As law enforcement releases information about Kohberger we may be introduced to more of his own analytical probings. One interpretation of "Crime and Punishment" is this: Beware of living in your head. Perhaps the leadership in academia should bring that warning to all the students, undergraduate, graduate, and professional. There could be less mental illness on campus. Also maybe fewer acts of violence.  There is a saying in 12-step programs that if you are totally ...

"I’ve had some negative interactions relating to my tone and a couple significant miscommunications. Should I be concerned about getting laid off?" -   From Post on Fishbowl Big Law, December 30, 2022. Here is the thread. The poster, despite making the hours quota, did not receive a bonus. Other associates had. Like most of us humans, this lawyer is intuitive and a gut check indicates that the penalty could be the result of the how of communications. Also, there is angst about being forcced out. With the majority of supervisors in overwhelm during the current economic volatility, it is downright common sense to err on the side of deference in interaction. In addition, in my career coaching practice I am recommending softening the rhetoric. Substitute understanding and compassion for the harsh analytical judging. That could make what we call "feedback" more effective. A mandatory resolution for the beginning of 2023 is this: Take a comprehensive inventory of the how...

 The Netflix adaptation of "Lady Chatterley's Lover" carries myriad memes of liberation.  The obvious ones are freedom from circumscribed sexual mores and upper class' lack of social justice.  But in this time when those big jobs on Wall Street are being lost and even the survivors feel they can't take the stress any more, there is a major one about lifestyle creep. Constance Chatterley surrenders the infrastructure and goodies of an aristocratic life. She closes that door (sort of like Nora's slamming the door in "A Doll House" ) so that a new one will open. Constance uses her love of gamekeeper Oliver as the platform to step into a world of equality among the sexes and compassion for one's fellow man.  Terminations by the giantic financial firms have already been going on in 2022. Because that industry changes rapidly too many of those let go will not be able to make it back in. The high-paying jobs, which as the accelerant on lifestyle creep...

“While much digital ink was spilled trying to figure out what the chaos at Twitter means for clients, far less attention has been paid to  ChatGPT , the new digital chatbot from OpenAI. ” - Benji Englander, Seven Letter, O’Dwyer’s Public Relations , December 23, 2022. WE WERE THERE ON NOVEMBER 30TH This annoys me. More bluntly, I feel insulted. From the get-go on November 30 th when OpenAI launched ChatGPT, we were there. The “we” includes establishment media, tabloids, social media, social/professional networks, bloggers, podcasters, and videoites. In addition, we were also cornering in-person whomever we could, like The Ancient Mariner, to chat about such a wonderous development. If we hadn’t been jaw-jawing on the AI breakthrough and the implications for our own and other sectors we would have been vilified. Where was Englander that he didn’t pick up on all that activity? WHAT GOD HAS WROUGHT Like Englander does on his own coverage – smirk, he published it on Decemb...

“All … were people whose jobs were simply not important anymore … I had referred to this category of worker as ‘leftover people’ …” – Chapter 1, THE STORE , James Patterson, Little, Brown and Company, 2017. That reflection had been made at a dinner party in Manhattan. Some of the guests were already unemployed because their functions such as travel agent had been made obsolete by technology. Others such as executives at auction houses would soon become jobless, thanks to eBay. Here it is 5 years later. The pile-up of leftover people is accelerating in its growth. AI chatbots are wiping out the writing profession as we have known it. It has even been posited that writing will no longer be taught in high schools. The manual skill will no longer be needed. Sure, the AI “they” will retain some human writers to oversee the chatbots which produce everything from marketing communications to a resume (cover letters are becoming obsolete) to video scripts. But that will only provide jo...

'"Most of our clients, the Wall Street firms and asset managers, are not very optimistic' for 2023, said Alan Johnson, managing director at Johnson Associates." -  The Wall Street Journal , December 28, 2022. That's Wall Street. Where there is big money, along with aspirations of building even more wealth. And, what I am discovering is this: It has so little to do with the mood of so many others right now as we move into 2023.  Contrary to how capitalism is perceived, money is not the mirror of the human soul in America. The more fundamental value is this: relationships. More tears are shed over matters of the heart than the numbers in financial accounts or bonus check.  Yesterday was one of the most busy days for my Tarot-reading practice . The issues were all about 2023. And all were, yes you got it, about people connects. Those extended from romance to family dynamics to ghosts from the past to clients for whom was felt a mystical pull force.  Admittedly the cl...

 " A PIP [Proposal to Improve Performance] is an organizations polite way of saying you’re getting fired but we need some time to find a way to replace you." Response on Reddit Jobs to a post about being threatened with a PIP, December 2022, Here is the Thread There was a time when the organization was committed to help workers save their jobs. A plan, usually put together on a  confidential basis, was developed for improvement of performance. Back then there was no objective of firing w/o any legal consequences or unemployment. That was then. Currently a PIP usually indicates employees are on their way out.  I am downright candid with those who come to me for guidance on the process.  Sure, there are exceptions. But not many.  The wise move is to launch a job search. Should performance be assessed as having improved, great. But even if that happens it might still be smart to have a new start elsewhere. In the next setting there might not be any reservations abo...

Here we are. Already Deadline's Dominic Patten is telling Bob Iger his Return of the Hero sequel at Disney isn't getting great reviews. There's the stock price. It is the lowest since 1974. So many systemic problems, which some contend had been created by Iger, need to be solved. And there is great questioning throughout the land if Iger is up to that job. The elephant in the room on this one at Disney and in many other organizations is: If the high-octane persona which used to symbolize the right kind of leadership has become a liability in these complex times? The era we are living in reminds me of the Zen mantra: Clear thinking, don't know.   No one knows, do they ... Not at all unthinkable:  Will investors push the Disneys (and the Teslas) to have the C-Suite circle back from what seems to look, talk, and walk like narcissism to the "servant leader?"  In the 12-step recovery model those with responsibility are called “trusted servants.” Millions of lives ...

  The JD Class of 2023 who have landed associate positions with large law firms in New York City have plenty to worry about.  Currently that includes if the start date will be delayed. And, as happened during the global downturn in 2008 – 2009, if the offer will be snatched back.   But a more standard concern is what they will have to pony up for rent in NYC. Commuting from wherever is not really an option.  Big Law firms with offices in NYC tend to facilitate their lawyers being able to come in immediately for a client emergency. That's part of the reason for the high salaries: So that they can afford NYC rent. For example, suppose a client's hotel catches fire during the night. Partners contact junior lawyers to join them in managing the initial legalities for that in real time.  With RTO creeping back, the odds are that lawyers will also have to be back in-person more. Some speculate that, like Ropes & Gray, many law firms will put teeth in R...

  At the sentencing of fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, US District Judge Edward Davila reflected on how that saga came to be. One explanation he put out there was that  Holmes became intoxicated with fame.  As we enter a quite sobered-up world economy in 2023 that type of behavior might go down as "drunk leadership." That is, the narcissists are in charge and when they are they can cause catastrophe. In Politico Joanna Weiss declares that amid the turbulence of 2022 we tired of that version of ego-driven self-absorbed behavior. We got it: Rule-breaking in itself is not necessarily a harbinger of disruptions which will change the world for the better. Yes, there had been the Steve Jobs type. He came through on the promises. More haven't. So, those who are assessed as committing "drunk leadership" could be in for rough handling in 2023. For Elon Musk that has already started. His supposed genius is being questioned, especially in how he is operating Tesla . I...

Expose author of "Servants of the Damned" - David Enrich - was right about the power and reach of large law firms. But his view about the reasons could be assessed as, well, circumscribed. Big Law might have such influence not primarily because of the wealth it has built up. More of a driver could be that we live in a world increasingly dominated by legalities. Those become  the  story. The lawyers themselves become celebrities. The law firms in which they are partners become the ones the best and brightest want to work for. So, predictably what we now call “media” - establishment, tabloid, and social/professional networks - have focused on the lawyers/law firms caught up in the widening web of FTX.  Meanwhile, the defendants and the plaintiffs often become bit players. That might also apply to the Leon Black ongoing saga of lawsuits, attempted countersuits, and filings of proposed sanctions against a law firm. The lawyers/law firms are grabbing the detailed att...

 The gallows humor among underpaid or underemployed liberal arts graduates has been  Become a plumber.  Until recently, though, most of us stuck with the white-collar jobs that higher education prepared us for. Now more graduates of college and professional/graduate school are seriously considering a shift to blue collar work or have already made the transition. A post on Reddit Career Guidance asks for feedback on making the leap from a desk job in a university to a unionized blue collar one. Both have the same pay scale. One response reports: "A good friend of mine was a hedge fund guy, multi million a year, stressed out beyond belief. Had a heart attack at 36.. he’s laying tile now, in a union and happy ..." Here is the  thread. A client for my coaching services with a master's degree has launched a number of enterprises which provide blue-collar kinds of services. Those include window-washing. She had started out pink-collar in a hair salon, then pick...

" Grumbling grows for banking giant Goldman to 'Sach' CEO Solomon  -  A revolt in some quarters of Goldman’s middle and upper management ranks could determine how much longer he stays in his job. " - New York Post , December 23, 2022. Just like Disney CEO Bob Chapek and before that AMC CEO Christina Spade, David Solomon could be stepping down. That could be after a relatively short time in the big job of CEO.  According to Korn Ferry the average tenure of CEOs is 6.9 years. That's down 14% from 2016.  Chapek had been in the job less than 3 years. Spade about 3 months. Solomon took the job in October 2018. That's not long ago, is it. When the CEOs go so does the power they held. If Solomon is nudged out there is bound to be a power quake within Goldman. In addition, vendors doing business with the old guard could be cut out. This long holiday weekend both employees and contractors should be assessing their exposure to a disruption in leadership. Intuitive care...

"... the firm [Ropes & Gray] is apparently docking bonuses for associates with 'insufficient' compliance with the mandatory office attendance rule." -  Abovethelaw, December 23, 2022  Note the word "apparently." At the time of the coverage the law firm had not responded with confirmation or denial. The reporting had been based on tips.  What is interesting about this development is that even those who received full bonuses - that is they were in compliance of the RTO policy - are angry because there was no warning. The memo about bonuses made no specification that not being in the office Tuesdays through Thursdays could result in a reduced amount. What is scary about this for others in law firms as well as on Wall Street is that penalties could also be imposed by their organization for not showing up in the office and continuing to operate WFH. That edit could become sticky as employers continue to get back the upper hand during a world economic slowdow...

  'Tis the season for gifting upward, downward, and across. There has been plenty of chatter about appropriateness (is it bad form for a junior member of the team to gift a principal or partner), expense, and timing. Also, what about the wording on the transmittal note? How can the line between warmth and intimacy not be crossed? But this may be the last year for that particular type of conversation. So much about Christmas is being rethought. As posts on professional anonymous networks indicate, gifts are part of that reassessment.  Remember that gifts are experienced differently than is a bonus. The gift is wrapped in emotion. The bonus means business. So, want to reward performance without attaching sentiment (usually unwanted by the recipient) or anything else, just provide a bonus.  Gifts have these 4 disadvantages: Adds on yet another layer of communications.  Our society is already one of overcommunication. As the conversations on social scream, if t...

 Professional services operate like Hollywood: It's the star game. Both for branding and for profitability.  How Big Law played it in 2022 is featured in Bloomberg Law. Increasingly twinkle wattage is not home-grown. Instead it is snatched from a competitor or at least a powerhouse instituition. The poacher looks good. Those poached from lose brand equity. And the lawyers who lateral acquire more money, power, and influence.  The significant plays this year include the sports lawyers Irwin Raij and Charles Baker from O'Melveny to Sidley Austin. Sports are big. So is cybersecurity. Paul Weiss nudged John Carlin from the Department of Justice to co-chair its practice in that.  Since Profits Per Equity Partner is projected to be down for 2022 there could be fewer of the major lateral moves. Those require the big bucks, both on the table and in projetions for the future. Here were the PEP winners in 2021: Firm PEP 1. Wachtell $8.4M 2. Kirkland $7.388M 3. Davis Polk $7.0...

" Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman and media mogul, is interested in acquiring either Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones or The Washington Post, a source familiar with his thinking told Axios." -  MSN,  December 23, 2022 Although the media sector remains glam it is increasingly troubled in everything from financial performance to reach to trust.  This breakdown has gone this far: There is speculation that influence will come from what's posted on social/professional networks not newsfeeds.  In a sense the "official" reporting follows what has already been made public in real time on the social/professional networks (those include the anonymous ones). I had found out about the death of Paul Weiss partner David Brown on Fishbowl Big Law. A more recent example of social/professional reach has been Elon Musk's using Twitter for decision-making about stepping down. One solution for media survival and growth has been mergers and acquisitions (M...

It's in an op-ed in  The Wall Street Journal  that political analyst Karl Rove warns America that, as JFK had declared, the torch has to be passed to a new generation.  Of course that means this: We boomers (who heard JFK's ringing rhetoric about generational shift when we were in school) should fade from chasing after and holding onto those big leadership positions in government.  But that's just one kind of power we should be surrendering to younger generations. Or so those younger generations are telling us. Meanwhile, though, the boomers with the power are not letting go. Those stepping aside more often than not are being pushed aside by employers. That's in the service of cost-control. Older workers make too much. Their jobs can be performed by someone who would be happy to do all that for one-third the compensation. The career ends. They don’t know a way back. Typically they die relatively young. In contrast there are the rest of us boomers who make i...