TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

Influencer  Vanity Fair  draws parallels between the ethos of AMC blockbuster series "Mad Men" and what continues to shape our work and our lives. At the top of the list in our collective memory bank, which probably has hardened in the years leading up to this 15th anniversary of "Mad Men," are the suicides in each. Oh, suicide is pervasive in the 21st century. But, what made them emotionally grabbers was this: Both were enacted in or near the workplaces.  At Sterling Cooper ad agency, Lane Pryce hung himself in the office. In the parking lot of law firm Sidley Austin Gabe MacConaill shot himself to death. The layers of that messaging keep resonating. The question is: Can work really destroy us? Didn’t Mom tell us: It’s only a job. Another commonality is the vulnerability created by dependence on a lucrative account. At Sterling Cooper it was Lucky Strike. When that ended, at first the firm was in despair. But then the creative Don Draper conjured up a strateg...

  "Zuckerberg revealed that Meta would be implementing higher standards for its employees — and cutting ties with those who were unable to meet the new performance threshold." -   New York Post , July 26, 2022. So a kind of "rank-and-yank" could be coming to Meta. And maybe to other businesses which had overhired during the pandemic boom. Or just can't afford the expense of so much human capital during a global economic slowdown.  In some form that has always existed in pockets of professional life in American business. However, it only took on that buzzy name when former GE chief executive officer Jack Welch made eliminating those assessed at the bottom corporate policy. At the time he was hailed as a role model for other business leaders to follow. Since then, as we all know, the  Welch brand has become badly tarnished . But rank-and-yank long had been an underground business model, likely ranging from non-profits such as elite academic institutions to law fir...

  "... you've finally hit rock bottom. You know what the worst outcome is because you just experienced it, and you can now start working on moving forward."  - Jessica Wiggan in the book  "How To Read Tarot  - A Modern Guide." That's the traditional interpretation of the Ten of Swords Tarot Card. Usually I only refer to traditional interpretations as a guide, but when it comes to the Ten of Swords I tend to go totally with the consensus reading of this particular card. And, the usual response is downright relief. The card signals there is an end to the recent suffering. A lesson which can be extracted from that pain, though, is this: Pain can't be avoided. No matter how much of it you might have already endured in life. Or how smart or successful you are. Trying to duck pain will trigger needless suffering.  Each experience of pain can equip you with fresh insight about yourself, better tools for navigating the crisis, and unexpected strength.  Reflectio...

  “'This is war-time, we need a war-time CEO,'” one [Meta] employee wrote [as a comment during the virtual town meeting with Mark Zuckerberg]. - New York Post, July 26, 2022. This year Meta stock is down 50%. It is not alone in the social network space in its distress. According to the survey of GenZ by Piper Sandler , use of all social network apps is down with the exception of TikTok. In addition, overall much of tech is hurting. Layoffs and rescinded offers are being reported daily on LinkedIn's news section.  Wall Street could be conducting a 10% Reduction-in-Force by the end of 2022.  In the law-firm sector Redgrave has already laid off, Steptoe is cutting compensation for those who don't make their hours quota, and in the UK Allen & Overy has frozen associate pay raises. So, I am asked more and more by those who still have a job what should they do to hang on to it? I learn the most from my clients. Here's what they tell me: Yes, beef up the face time. T...

Both money and what seems more secure than other opportunities can and usually do seduce us into opting for that job or contract assignment which is a terrible fit. Too often, that will overrule the choice of a work situation which would be a more natural fit.  And, over and over again, we have borne witness, including in our own careers, to the reality that such bad fits can eat away at everything from our achievement to mental health. That is increasingly how things play out in this era when work has become so demanding. There are few jobs or client assignments that can be accomplished during regular business hours, five days a week. Essentially the consensus on Subreddit Big Law is that the fit should take precedence over other factors in determining a career path. That is even if there will be less initial compensation. The collective wisdom is: Do what you love and the money will follow.  A member of the JD of Class of 2023 posts a question about if there should be an acc...

  The Hulu documentary  "Truth & Lies: Monica and Bill"  features a "gifted" politician whose charisma is still influential. That's Bill Clinton, of course.  Essentially the series is about how an innate ability to charm, along with a high dose of robust confidence and spinners as consultants, had so many negative impacts. Among those was trust in government leadership. But Clinton emerged to go on to pursue other ventures creating power and wealth.  So much for politics. And more and more of us are weary of engaging in conversations about the political this or the political that. In this summer of escalating uncertainty, the issue is if the business world has become sufficiently wary of those who can cast rhetorical spells? Understatement: These are challenging times. At the extreme end had been convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes. Her jaw-jawing about a revolution in healthcare shook loose funds from investors in her startup Theranos. Ye...

 Big Law is about star power. That's just like in the old Hollywood studio system. And that makes their leaders the analogue of those moguls who had ruled the movie business. They have to identity, recruit (usually poach), and hold onto the names which will twinkle on the marquees. Today one of those stars has been featured in the media. That's Kannon Shanmugam, a real killer in winning for his clients in arguing their issues before the US Supreme Court. His most recent bit of fame came from his record advocacy pitch in  "OK v Castro-Huerta." That lasted 71 minutes. That's the longest at SCOTUS in decades. And it's a major part of the job description of Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp to keep Shanmugam, a partner at that firm, happy. In the process of acing that, Karp, just like the moguls of a different time, himself becomes a star. In the industry he is known for maintaing quite a stable of talent. In a Bloomberg Law interview he did happen to gush some...