Where have I gone

Hi 

How you doing?

I've moved my blogging address but nothing else has changed. I'm still going on about anything and everything to do with making the rest of your life the best of your life over at:

www.onwego.co.uk  

I look forward to catching up with you there.

Bob

Success is more than having a walled office

Now OnWeGo is all about looking forward ...doing new things ...never too late to change and all that. Dwelling on the past certainly wouldn't be seen as recommended practice by yours truly. But it seems I've had a bit of an epiphany moment or maybe an accumulation of meta-epiphany moments. The first one was last year when I came across the now empty offices of Golden Wonder. Stood there I remember thinking - "what memories of my '79 to '91 career golden years must live on between those walls!" - and then I wistfully moved on to Starbuck's. Then a second moment came when on a Google Earth hosted nostalgia trip to my old school - yes there was the prison ..and Hammersmith Hospital ...but why couldn't I see the school? I was shocked when I subsequently discovered that "Danes" had been demolished and relocated 20 years ago. And now recently a third moment - I learnt from a former Kraft Foods colleague that the old firm are vacating St Georges House in Cheltenham.

This one seems to upset me most. Probably because St Georges House is where I initially made it in my 2nd career in sales. Office + Secretary + Ford Granada with parking space were the trophies that marked my rapid ascent to HO Senior Management from a speculative beginning as a territory salesman in 1972. And yes - maybe because I also had this fanciful idea of dropping in there one day. Of being welcomed like a returning hero. Checking out my old office and seeing whether Dave Parry had ever managed to get an enclosing glass wall and door across his alcove - management had it removed - only senior managers were allowed a walled office!
So I am a bit disappointed to know that these special places from the past are no more. But I feel more for my former colleagues who made these places their career homes for life - they are very sad. They talk about the weekly reunion and "keeping it going" with mates they'd work with for 20, 30 40 years. And it's probably hard if not impossible for them to understand why I should feel happier because I switched jobs and careers several times.
But for me - and I think for more people than realise it - happiness in a job and career comes from achieving renewed success from the uncertainty of fresh challenges. From gaining acceptance and recognition from new peers. And from ultimately recognising that making a difference for a whole new family of people is infinitely more important and rewarding than a walled office.

Maslow rules OK!

A much needed makeover for Maslow's Hierarchy!" When I read that article recently I was decidely unsettled. Refresh Maslow? But I've been preaching his "hierachy of need" theory for over 30 years. I'm a total believer! And that's in Abraham's good old original version:

SELF-ACTUALISATION
SELF-ESTEEM
SOCIAL-ACCEPTANCE
SECURITY

SURVIVAL

I was reminded more than once of its continuing relevance when holidaying last week in beautiful South Devon. An entertaining cameo reminder came when a three-generation family arrived to set up for a day on the beach.

Food, drink, chairs and windbreaks to support Survival were tirelessly ferried from the car. Then their chosen spot was changed twice before a spot - defended at the rear by the sea wall and to the side by windbreaks - was seen to meet their Security needs. This was temporarily threatened by some self-interested positioning of chairs and disputes over towel ownership. But eventually this gave way to reconciling remarks like "eh this is the life!" and Social-Acceptance prevailed as Grandad and Dad teamed up to build a sandcastle for the little one. Unfortunately this became the usual contest of building skills as Self-esteem intervened. With public approval favouring son-in-law's efforts, Grand-dad clearly saw sand-castles as unfulfilling and ultimately went off searching the cliff face for fossils and Self-actualisation!

There are several views on how Maslow hierarchy can be improved but in general they tend to either adapt or add to Self-actualisation. Personally I can understand this because for me Self-actualisation isn't so much something you achieve but a state where you are always looking for something new.

And this was the insight I gained when chatting with two very fit and well-sussed "senior" walkers. They explained that they walk because they want to discover new places and also to progress beyond the 638 miles they've previously walked. What they are doing in the process is to continually re-ascend Maslow's hierachy each time they set off on new walking holiday. Relishing the challenge of fresh Survival, Security and Social Acceptance needs ...and boosting Self-esteem and Self-actualisation to new levels.

And for us starting over again later in life and work should be seen in the same way ...as opportunity not threat. We assume a state of finality and inevitability ...perhaps because of convention and maybe courage too?

How about taking a chance on change? It beats building sand castles.

look for the hero in yourself

It's been a week for stories about inspirational heroes. The Festival of Remembrance brought to our television screens pictures of servicemen who despite suffering terrible injuries were now tackling life with even more courage and determination.
For several days TV news featured the story of Paul and Rachel Chandler who survived their 388 day ordeal as hostages of Somali pirates and are now back home and building their lives again.
Another story to catch my eye - possibly because I'm  a fan of Italian football but I hope for other reasons too - was the one about Roberto Baggio. A legendary member of the "Azzuri" and former FIFA player of the year - Roberto is the 2010 winner of the Peace Summit Award, bestowed by Nobel Peace Prize laureates in recognition of his long-term efforts for charity.
There are several threads to this story that interest me:
- The diversity of his challenges:- Fundraiser for hospitals and earthquake victims. Fighter gainst bird flu. UN goodwill ambassador campaigning against hunger. Pro-democracy movement member supporting the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma.
-  His conversion from Roman Catholicism to Buddhism  and its suggestion that he was drawn to change as he moved on in life.
- And thirdly, that he should change from a career in football - better known perhaps for having ex-stars who remain in the game. Sometimes clinging on to opportunity until that runs out - rather than sensing that there could be something better out there and moving on to fresh challenges.
It's easy to draw a parallel for that last supposition with the thousands of people who are at the "fulfilled stage" of everyday careers. Clinging onto opportunity. Fearful that it will run out - but unable to accept that there are better things out there. Doubting their ability to reskill for a new "ball game" or fit in with a new team. Possibly concerned that their reputation will count for little in any new role. And I'll admit to having held those fears! But like so many others I found out that whilst thinking I'd achieved success as measured in conventional ways - a better success was to come along.

• The success of doing what I really wanted to do.
• The success of making a difference in a way that actually meant something.
• The success of doing a variety of new things that I wouldn't have previously thought I could. 

I used to remember Roberto for "skying" a penalty in the World Cup Final penalty shoot out against Brazil. Now I think of him as campione del Peace Summit and Onwego hero!
   

Blueberry juice improves your sex life!

Possibly because mathematics was my one and only "1st in class" subject - numbers seem to feature prominently throughout my working life. 
From first encounters as a bought ledger totalling trainee accountant - to "dims working up" building surveyor - then  activity sampling work study engineer I felt as secure with numbers as a bead on an abacus!
Next came the middle years in Sales and Marketing - winning business on the strength of sterling weighted rates of sale and category average margin contribution. Nielsen and MGS market data was my favourite read.
Now as an Acorn defined "affluent grey" self-employed 55+ Web Marketer I avidly scour the internet for OnWeGo relevant articles with conclusive statistical outcomes.
Yes it's true to say I have a passion for maths - if facts are supported by statistics I'm more likely to believe it (probably 40% more likely!). Facts like:
- When researching sexual activity of men and women aged over 55 the University of Chicago happened to observe that interest in sex amongst singles was 57% for men compared to 11% for women.
- 50 year old women have 5% to 8% better short-term verbal memory than 50 year old men as proven in research at the Institute of Education, University of London.  
- Blueberry juice improves the memory of pensioners by 40% in word association tests. As reported by the University of Cincinatti when testing pensioners who drank a pint of blueberry a day over 3 months!
So from the above we can easily postulate:
In single men and women over 55 the interest levels in sex compare approximately 5:1 and this correlates with an inferior short-term verbal recall level for men in the same age group. Verbal recall would of course include chat up lines so we see a likely explanation. Blueberry juice consumption has been shown to substantially improve verbal recall.
Ipso facto - drinking blueberry juice improves your sex life!
OK! Research Statistician may not be career shift number 7!!
But what I will postulate is that the web is a gold mine of knowledge which millions want to access and pay for! And that us over 55's have a wealth of accumulated knowledge - all of it experience ....and sometimes mistakes based! 
Getting started with an on-line knowledge based business couldn't be simpler.
- Write e books on your passion and create your marketable products !
- Publish on-line articles and write a blog to create awareness and attract customers. 
Just Google "e books" "article marketing" and "blogging" and see how much you will learn in a few hours.
Just follow your passion. It's more than "odds on" you'll be a success!     

Network your way back to work!

On Wednesday I went to my first networking breakfast in almost a year.  I arrive late at the new venue - a prominent football stadium - and drive in ironically cheering the one and only  directional sign I have seen on my entire journey?
Being late I miss the preliminary socialising and that's not good for me.  Any hint of social exclusion brings out an anarchic rebellious streak.  I have a "Reggie Perrin moment" and will the Breakfast Club host to fall from the chair where he commands attention during  his opening remarks. A video cameraman is filming proceedings - I  innocently obstruct his view and get asked to move.  
Breakfast is finally called. In the scrum for table places I see from the side the Retro  Bookmaker's  suit of the local networking pariah - and successfully avoid eye contact!
Surely a camouflaged look would help him avoid the Billy no mates table? 

Then I settle at the breakfast table between two welcoming and easy to chat with business women - a graphic designer and an HR and Change Consultant. I feel included once more - suddenly all the angst has gone and those rested networking skills are up and running.

After the customary "what do you do?" exchanges we refresh thoughts on successful networking techniques, talking about:

• The essential Elevator Pitch - how it must make clear what it is that you do and what that does for your customer.
• The essence of the elevator pitch - your "special widget" ...the distillation of what you do  that distinguishes you from others doing the same. This we agreed is the bit that networkers will remember and encourage them to recommend you.
• A story - a case study or anecdote that illustrates your widget at work and shows what it achieved.

Later on that day I was talking with a colleague about the challenges of getting back into work.   Recalling my earlier conversations we quickly agree that business networking offers a terrific opportunity for securing employment - and the disciplines of business referral are entirely relevant as well:

Nothing works better than a personal recommendation. 

And nothing makes making a recommendation easier than a memorable success story.

Although initially amused we also see the relevance of those "moments" I'd had earlier:

An unfamiliar journey made difficult by inadequate signs!

The feeling of "socially exclusion" by an established group.

Because these are the feelings that many experience when seeking employment after years in a secure familiar role. But just like my moments this morning - they are illusional. We create these perceptions ourselves.  And once set aside we find that all is familiar and we are as as good as we ever were. 

So that's the message to every jobseeker then-

Find your "widget" ...create your story ... get out there ...be early ...and don't wear a Retro-Bookmaker's suit

 

Forget the job - give me a short term contract

My friend Julie at Churchillbrook posted a discussion recently on the trend towards short term contract employment. A real prospect in the current business climate.
It immediately triggered a thought back to the 80's and early 90's when Total Quality Management ...Business Process Re-engineering ....Management Delayering were all  collaborating to change the shape and reduce the headcount of businesses.

For those of us that were "downsized" with no job to go to it was a traumatic experience! Many were a product of the good old days, when you could leave one job and find another with ease. And I think we also had an evolutionary issue to handle (inserting a quick disclaimer on any credentials as an anthropoligist) in that we are of a culture that expects  employment to be provided! Certainly, the suggestion once made by a famous politician of that era that to find work we should  "get on our bike!" was felt to be alien to say the least!
So not surprisingly the change in employment attitudes was evolutionary rather than revolutionary ...and perhaps tribal too.
But over time - sometimes after further redundancies -people accepted that things had changed.  We had our epiphany moment and decided that being part of an establishment headcount wasn't for us! And we came to discover how good it was:
- Feeling that what we did was for ourself and getting such a buzz out of it.
- Being appreciated more for our objectivity, expertise and contribution.
- Getting the refreshing variety of a new industry or company. 
- Having that great sense of independence and control over our own life.
- And because of that - and rather unexpectedly - feeling more secure than ever before.
But it did take us a while to recognise all these benefits - where was OnWeGo when we needed it??
Commerce and industry is however more accustomed to outsourcing these days.
Even smaller enterprises where much of the hope for growth must be centred, have a more businesslike attitude when it comes to outsourcing work to freelancers. They know that they need to flex their manpower requirements up and down as they plot a path to recovery and growth out of the recession.
So the quicker we recognise how much we get out of offering the same flexibility the better.
And then everyone is a winner!