TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

  This isn't toxic positivity. Yes, during Q1 2025 the economy contracted 0.3% . Yes, on the one hand, some businesses tell me that they are receiving significantly reduced contacts from prospects to purchase their products or services.  On the other hand, since they are less busy their survival instincts have them investing more attention and more creativity into closing on those leads which do come in. They often do close the deal.  A part of that requires dropping a comparison mindset. That is, they can't measure financial performance this year with what been achieved in better times. What matters is holding on. Overwhelmed by the uncertainty? Special expertise with transitions, reskilling and startups. Complimentary consultation with Intuitive Coach Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).  

  So, it's leaking out what might have gone out in that three-hour in-person meeting in the Oval Office, with remote connections looped in, to hammer out the deal between the Paul Weiss law firm chair Brad Karp and US President Donald Trump. Despite no official confirmations of much of that, we're all grabbing onto the alleged details and mulling them over. Power is such a titillating topic.  One snippet is that time was invested in discussing golf games. Abovethelaw reports: " ... Karp, Trump and [Bob] Giuffra [of Sullivan & Cromwell] proceeded to talk about golf for about 15 minutes, according to a source familiar with the events." Very interesting. On the one hand, we know that in America (but not necessarily in the rest of the world) golf is declining in popularity. GolfGuy notes:  "According to a FactSet report, between 2003 and 2018, golf saw a decline of over 6.8 million players and more than 1,200 course closures."  Driving that are the difficu...

  The law-firm dealmakers with the Trump administration are hard-nosed lawyers. Daily they manage the legalities in some of the darkest of human behavior. But I have a hunch that when the nine law firms, ranging from Paul Weiss to Simpson, negotiated with the administration to do pro-bono assignments they didn't anticipate what those would play out to be. Now they know. Bloomberg Law reports: "President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department on Monday to launch a program including free legal assistance from law firms to police officers accused of wrongdoing … Trump has also suggested he’ll tap the firms to work on  trade issues  stemming from his tariff war and in efforts to  ramp up  coal mining." Much if not all of that is antithetical to the values of progressive law firms. There must be so much emotional distress. And that isn't only the nature of the tasks. It's the loss of autonomy. Previously the wealth, power and influence of those law firms equipp...

LINKEDIN'S TOP VOICE FOUND THIS POST INSIGHTFUL Were boomers the last generation to aspire in college to write one of those Great American Novels?  Well, we even held onto that dream when we liberal arts majors took jobs in public relations, marketing communications and screenwriting. None in my circles ever did it, though. The nearest I came to that was publishing a satiric novella "The Fat Guy From Greenwich." It is having a long half life, though, on YouTube. Now? It would make us sound "old" if we even alluded to those actual Great American Novels such as "The Great Gatsby." The Wall Street Journal goes down that sort of memory lane, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the novel and saluting others whose legacy is so far off in another dimension. But I wonder how many clicks that WSJ article will have among the prized 18 to 40 demographic?  Age bias in professional life can begin at 35. Once it kicks in it can erode career progress. So, the aler...

 Usually, it's a soul-wrenching decision to shift lines of work from white-collar to blue. But it was necessary. And that has been the story, with happy endings until recently, for a number of my clients pushed out by a collapsing sector, cost-efficiency and/or age from their knowledge work career paths.  They chose to reskill in driving trucks long-haul. That required anywhere from $1,000 to $7,000 investment for training and licensing. But some got their ticket punched if they agreed to drive for that company for two years. They adjusted. They got out of debt. Eventually they had something left over to put into equities, bonds and certificates of deposit. Now, just like their previous line of work, the employment security can come to a halt. Financial powerhouse Apollo projects that tariffs could trigger truckers' layoffs by summer. Along with those, of course, could be the empty shelves in retail we recall from Covid times.  If tariffs continue too many of the laid-off...

  Today the movie theater, usually fairly empty, was packed. The crowds were for the film "Accountant2," a sequel to the initial peculiar tale of a highly effective human being who's very different from what's considered the norm in society. His father had equipped him to navigate a rigid social system in his own way.  In this version, the man who experts might label "neurodiverse" and his normie brother rescue a boy missing for years from the bad guys. In the process they delight audiences with how they break the rules. Deadly violence keeps happening all over the place. But they get the job done. And in working together as a team bring a brotherly relationship back on track.  This deviation from the norm doesn't bother the neurodivergent a bit. In addition, he's portrayed as downright charming by the skillful acting of Ben Affleck.  That combination might be triggering this question in some: Am I neurodivergent?  Well, I asked ChatGPT that. That ge...

The DIY research-report creation tool from OpenAI - DeepResearch - had only been available for paid users. It has been a wow. But not every individual or organization was willing to put up the funds for a paid subscription. Students might not have been able to afford it.  Now, the recent good news: DeepResearch is available for free.  Think of it as the Lite Version . Based on the o4 mini reason model it will do bang-up job at digging and compiling that into a report. But it doesn't go as  deep or generate as comprehensive a report as the paid version. That latter is based on the o3 reasoning model.  You can access DeepResearch Lite through the non-paid prompt platform ChatGPT. And given that ChatGPT has been around for a while you've probably developed sophisticated expertise in how to create the prompts that will yield the best results the most efficiently. That is so much the situation that the specialized professional role of prompt engineer , which used to pay a...

  Just like much of healthcare-associated sectors elsewhere, those in public relations are doing fine, despite crazy economic conditions. O'Dwyer Public Relations reports the top 75 healthcare pr firms produced 3.8% growth in 2024. Meanwhile, Q1 for some more general pr firms hasn't been so rosy. For example, IPG had an almost $86 million loss, with net revenue down 8.5%. In addition, WPP experienced a 2.7% decline in revenue.  Overall, pr, once a high-flyer, is being hit by the same headwinds as so many other industries. A major one is the economic uncertainty which is having potential clients put off pr projects and current ones not authorizing additional ones. As those on Reddit and Fishbowl lament that hesitation has dried up hiring at all levels and is generating layoffs.  In my intuitive coaching practice clients from a broad range of industries tell me their managers are assuring them that "things will pick up." I tutor them that probably is typical smart-lead...

  When attention was escalating about the moves of large law firms in dealmaking with the Trump administration some PR moves that might not have been smart were put in play. As they say, mistakes were made.  Right now the focus on them for firms such as Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis is lower in vibrations. Essentially for them it's heigh ho, heigh ho, off to work we go. The news has shifted to the wonderfully high compensation and how there's no shortage of new JD graduates and law students eager to chase it.  Skadden hasn't been as fortunate.  Well, there had been Skadden's decision to shut off email access for associates. That was the internal communications platform to share opinions about the $100 million pro-bono agreement, inform the firm about the reasons for their resignations, organize collective action about not participating in recruitment and post concerns about what are their ethical obligations given the new order of things. Legacy media, tabloids...

  As a coach I warn against time-outs. You may not be able to get back in. But there is hope. In this Substack column I present one comeback story and the fundamentals on making it back in. Overwhelmed by the uncertainty? Special expertise with transitions, reskilling and startups. Complimentary consultation with Intuitive Coach Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).

  The last two days have brought deep comfort for boomers. The Dow was not only up. It's been up a lot. Here's a snapshot this morning: Dow Jones Industrial Average DJI: ^DJI 40,158.36 +971.38  (+2.48%) As of Wed. Apr 23, 2025 10:58 AM EDT · Free Realtime Quote (USD) · Market open That is the news boomers (and the oldest of Gen X) need. That's because as a coach I know one thing: Working for income has become less and less an option in aging.  Sure, there are exceptions such as Martha Stewart who is still busy in the kitchen in her 80s. Paul Chaney, nearing 70, has been starting a number of tech-related enterprises. In his 90s, investment guru Warren Buffett is still crushing it. Among the youngest of the boomers, Paul Weiss law firm chair Brad Karp has kept himself marketable in a sector that's mutating.  But in general the optimism and energy in heigh ho, heigh ho, off to work we go is being sucked away by the new realities. At the top of the list is that there isn...

Ever since Harvard B School alumnus Jeff Skilling went to prison there has been this suggestion: Graduate schools of business should introduce an elective on how to stay out of jail. The training in such institutions of higher learning can equip players to be too clever by far in boosting profits and stock prices, just like Skilling. Now, with the coming of the Trump era with its focus on power, it seems imperative that JD schools put together electives on how to navigate power, both within an organization and externally.  The one for internal survival is way overdue. Otherwise you wouldn't encounter those postings on Reddit and Fishbowl about how associates are setting boundaries with partners, then lamenting that they are being frozen out. Obviously they didn't understand the power of partners and that they have to conform. That goes way back to Erving Goffman's fundamental in "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life." The entity with the most power sets the t...

  Notice the glaze-over on Main Street when folks pontificate on what they think about things. There is also less quoting of brandnames such as Barack Obama and Larry Summers who are not direct players in the chaotic action. It almost seems odd in The New York Times article on Harvard's financial crisis that the two are mentioned.  The reality is that no one knows what will happen from hour to hour, given the way the Trump administration operates and its impacts on everything from the stock market to the cost of tomatoes. Those intent on surviving these versions of Black Swans know to connect the dots DIY just-in-time. No, I won't buy more stock on the dip and I will eat salad without tomatoes. And that will be that for the next few hours.  Meanwhile, the boss probably doesn't care what you think about the new policy, although they might pretend to or even spend some funds on a survey of your opinions. The workplace, never a democracy, tends to be totally focused on get...

A masterful piece of performance art, the film "Sinners" will win myriad awards. But it is resonating in these confused times because, it asks just as we are doing today: Who are the sinners? The twin black brothers who made it big as gangbangers in Chicago, after so much discrimination back down in the old south, earned their money. They also seem worthy to retaliate against whites, especially members of the Klan.  Of course, the preacher can be labeled by us artists as a sinner in trying to hold back his son from his talent. Also consider this: What is he offering those he's preaching to in that run-down church? Do they have a shot at a better kind of life? We may be able to understand the Klan's compulsion to restore the old order of things. Transition is a brutal experience. And, the vampires assume they and only they have the right set of values. Time travel from sharecropper south to in-turmoil today.  Were Paul Weiss and Skadden so wrong in their determination ...

  Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 38,155.75 USD ▼  -986.48 (-2.52%) today April 21, 12:37 PM EDT  ·  Market Open UPDATE: Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 37,968.67 USD ▼  -1,173.56 (-3.00%) today April 21, 1:10 PM EDT  ·  Market Open

 It's said. And Norton Rose Fulbright did it. In a memo , it informs its lawyers that the organization is a legal business. End of story. Therefore, no opining about Donald Trump, except in a factual manner. Explicitly, it says: “The key point is that we publish and comment on legal, rather than political issues,”  Earlier, Paul Weiss removed all traces on its website of being in the front lines of the ESG (Environmental Social Governance) movement. Essentially that was about shifting from the Friedman doctrine that business was totally about the bottom line (return to shareholders) to include other kinds of values.  In coaching I make clear to clients that business has become all-business. That could be generating the migration to religion and spirituality . No longer is meaning or a sense of purpose coming from work.  Of course, you need to earn a good living. Special expertise with transitions, reskilling and startups. Complimentary consultation with Intuitive Co...

LINKEDIN TOP VOICES FOUND THIS POST INSIGHTFUL   Another blockbuster article in  The New York Times  details the sharp-elbowed competition among law firms. It uses that as the angle to explain why those firms heavy in transactional practices didn't even consider sending out the cavalry when one of its own Paul Weiss got hit with the Executive Order. That  could have destroyed the business, within days . The fierce force field of competition might have taken shape when Paul Weiss mutated from primarily a Wall Street litigation firm to include a growing number of transactional practices in 2008. It poached in 2011 the team of lawyers at another firm who were handling the Apollo account. The pivot was: The end of gentility in large law firms , and The preoccupation from fighting government, as in litigation, to having to please it.  Many agencies have to approve what goes on in transactions. So, it should have been clear to Paul Weiss that: No other transactional f...

Resistance involves risk. Lots of it and that’s not a level playing field. Sure, salute Harvard for standing up to the administration. But it can “afford” to do that. It won’t cease to operate. In contrast, large law firms, because of their structure, could have collapsed as a business because of the Executive Orders. In addition, risk isn’t equal for individuals in the front lines of resistance. Rachael Cohen, who exited Skadden with great fanfare, already had established herself as an influencer. That line of work can be more lucrative and fun than practicing law as a powerless associate. Others who left might not land on their feet. Could the real hero be those who calculate if they can “afford” to resist? For example, they might have a family to support. Think before you pitch in on the front lines. Here on Substack I look at these realities. Of course, you need to earn a good living. Special expertise with transitions, reskilling and startups. Complimentary consultation with Intu...

  It seems such a smart financial strategy: Make the emotional/social/professional sacrifice of pulling up roots in a HCOL (high cost of living) area such as New York Metro or Los Angeles and start of new life in a LCOL (low cost of living) region such as Oklahoma or Alabama. Not only could housing, both ownership and renting, be lower. So could other items such as car insurance and gasoline.  In coaching what I have discovered is that in their research and connecting the dots on data points too many of my clients leave out important factors such as access to healthcare. They assume because they have Medicare and a supplement such as United Health Care Medicare Advantage they are all set. The variable they should have keyed in is "National Ranking of Healthcare in Oklahoma." Better yet, go to ChatGPT and prompt "How is healthcare in Oklahoma." As ChatGPT reports, depending on what's doing the ratings, that state is at the bottom, ranking 49th or 47th.  Access to...

  Overall, finances aren't turning out the way the retired, semi-retired and those over-50 who took pay cuts anticipated. They come to me the coach for guidance about how to bring in more income from working. No, I'm not an investment counselor so I don't advise on passive income. The money-from-working situation is complex. And it keeps changing. It used to be that if the aging accepted non-knowledge work and low compensation they could depend on bringing in money. Not a lot but enough not to have to dip into savings/investments. Now, those earning opportunities are fewer since unemployed Gen Zers are grabbing them and, yes, they have the edge because age bias is real. Related to that is that unretiring is proving difficult. There are new technologies to master even to apply for jobs. Those hoping to just pop back into the work force are stunned to discover they are so rusty in everything from how a resume is put together to how to present themselves in an interview.  Give...

  The horror stories from back in 2008 - 2009 could begin surfacing again. The pricey apartment, with a one-year lease, was rented. New clothing was purchased.  If the position wasn't entry-level, the previous job was quit. And, then the offer was rescinded. Prior to that there might have been a delayed start date, with a small stipend.  On Fishbowl , there's a positing about a rescinding: "Thought I was going in house and finally leaving big law but my offer was pulled and the company is instituting a hiring freeze" This professional, though, was fortunate. They hadn't given notice yet at the other job. But since they had been quiet quitting they probably are in some kind of penalty box. Maybe even on the way out.  From my coaching I'm hearing about even contract offers being snatched back. The start date was set. Then the employer was unreachable. In too many situations, no explanation was provided. Just the silence.  Is the current version of sucking up ex...

  Since the 2008 global financial meltdown, Big Law has refined its playbook in managing downturns. For example, in the 2020 one, triggered by the pandemic, there weren't massive layoffs as there had been during The Great Recession.   So, if there is a recession in 2025, which some financial institutions indicate the odds for which is 65%, large law firms might be able to get by without RIFs. The only wrench in the works on this is that compensation for associates is higher now than it had been in 2020. Partners could ease the pain if they agree to delayed or even lower compensation. However, already recruitment and hiring are down. And generative AI apps are making inroads, slow but steady. The financial performance for Q1 this year was strong. Some of that resulted from collection of bills due from last year. But there probably won't be a boost from M&A. The boom that was expected with the Trump victory hasn't materialized. Business leaders feel too uncertain abou...

  The Trump administration pressure on Harvard might finally remove the mystique embedded in Americana since 1636. That could level the playing field in higher education. No longer would anyone who didn’t do Harvard size themselves up as less-than. And what good is their JD from Harvard Law School doing for Big Law leaders struggling to navigate the new order of things. Big Law the institution could be over. Here's what I have to say about that and more on Substack . Of course, you need to earn a good living. Special expertise with transitions, reskilling and startups. Complimentary consultation with Intuitive Coach Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).

  Those deals elite law firms made with the Trump Administration turn out to be open-ended, at least according to the new order of things. The pro-bono work could entail tariffs and Doge. Also there could be no cap on the amount of pro-bono work expected. Obviously, those law firms could continue to lose autonomy, as well as their power and values. Leadership could mutate into figureheads. Lawyers could become civil servants. Any way out? A work stoppage. But could a risk-averse sector loop into that? Not unthinkable. Equity partners should have made enough by now to cash out.  I take a look at this on Substack . Of course, you need to earn a good living. Special expertise with transitions, reskilling and startups. Complimentary consultation with Intuitive Coach Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).

It's a time when a generation which thought it had achieved financial security finds it unraveling. Nest eggs are threatened. The old advice - pick up a gig for extra income - is turning out to be poor advice. Those are fewer and Gen Zers are grabbing them. What I'm now recommending to the over-65 is relocate to LCOL (low cost of living) areas. When there figure out out-of-the-box ways to earn money. Dumpster diving is proving to generate a steady stream of income. Here is the cubby a client found next to the trash and sold for $10.    39,763.49 USD ▼  -605.47 (-1.50%) today April 16, 2:34 PM EDT  ·  Market Open Of course, you need to earn a good living. Special expertise with transitions, reskilling and startups. Complimentary consultation with Intuitive Coach Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).

  The future of Harvard, founded in 1636, is in play. The institution's economic survival is threatened by the Trump administration because it refuses to comply with the mandates. Its $50 billion endowment will only go so far. It takes a lot of money to run that kind of pillar of higher education and research. Much depends on if Harvard can gain support   in its defiant stance. The Wall Street Journal reports:  "Now that Harvard has stuck its neck out, it is waiting for support. The institution is working with Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with close ties to Trump that the university hired earlier this year. It is also leaning on its own team in Washington to reach out to potentially sympathetic Republicans in the administration or in Congress who might be willing to help ..." Another elite institution - the Paul Weiss law firm - also anticipated solidarity when hit with an Executive Order issued by the administration. Given the unique structure of that business , the...

Let's cut to the chase. Content-creators better back off from the claim that their livelihood is safe from generative AI because they provide the human touch.  I prompted ChatGPT to tell me what it knew about me - Jane Genova. Here's the link to what it came up with. The stylistics are an awesome fit for a profile. And it didn't miss a trick in retrieving the high points of a career and a human being.  How much better could a human content-creator do?  Here is a snippet: Jane Genova is a multifaceted professional known for her work as a writer, blogger, career coach, and intuitive consultant. She has authored several books, including Over-50: How We Keep Working , which offers strategies for career longevity, especially for those navigating the workforce later in life . Another notable work is The Fat Guy from Greenwich , a satirical novel that delves into the intricacies of corporate America .​ LinkedIn +4 X (formerly Twitter) +4 LinkedIn +4 Amazon Amazon In the digi...