Over-50

"Fresh Start" - Smirk Smirk

One version of the American Dream is The Fresh Start.

But, is it possible?

The mistress in the Chris Watts's saga - Nichol Kessinger - has applied for a name change. Daily Mail reports she is seeking a whole new identity including relocation. The recent Netflix documentary had made her even more notorious than she had been.

Of course, from the get-go the court of public opinion judged her harshly for "not knowing" (doesn't a woman somehow always "know" something is fishy about the man who claims to be separated) Watts was married. At the time the wife was pregnant. There were two young children.

In addition there was the matter of Kessinger's internet searches. They include the how-tos of anal and threesome sex. 

Years ago it had been suggested that the infamous intern Monica Lewinsky change her name. And, move to Europe. But immediately what was brought was the old adage: Wherever you go, you bring yourself. At the time, it was obvious Lewinsky remained the the same person who had gotten herself into that mess with a U.S. President. More recently, the issue is: Has she changed? Or, has she only become more adept in personal branding?

Back to Kessinger. Her two years of being out of the public view but not out of the zone of public vilification may or may not have changed her. The odds, though, are against it.

Even in that transformational 12-step program Alcoholics Anonymous, there is recognition that often the most that could be hoped for is: The miscreant stops drinking. That stops the harm to society. Also, to himself or herself. And, that's about it. There is even the gallows humor: You can sober up the horse thieves but they will still continue to steal horses.

Yes, there is the second chance in America. But few are able to use that platform to become the person or the professional they can be. 

The Future of Work. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Yes, You Over-45 Are Being Forced Out of Job Market - But You Can Reimagine How to Earn a Good Living

"An uncomfortable amount of the 45-and-over crowd have been forced to take jobs at the Home Depot or take on gig-economy-type roles, just to pay the bills and get health insurance." Jack Kelly, "Ageism Is Forcing Older Workers Out Of The Job Market," in Forbes, October 2, 2020. 

The Forbes article on the challenges for the aging is, of course, not new news.

ProPublica put out there a while ago that if you are over-50, the majority of you will be forced out your job. Moreover, only one in 10 of you will earn comparable compensation in the next job.

The surging overall unemployment during COVID-19 has worsened the situation. That's all that is new.

However, sure, you might wind up doing a stint in Home Depot. I did just that in 2003 -2004. The collapse of Enron and 9/11 had created a perfect storm which killed off my boutique in executive communications.

To pay the bills I grabbed a contract assignment at Home Depot in loss prevention. Soon enough I transformed that into a full-time job at Home Depot (Yes, I received health benefits) - along with regaining my confidence.

The Next consisted of my setting up two new boutiques. One in digital marketing. Another in career coaching. Forever, I am grateful to Home Depot. 

The reality, and not just for the aging, is that careers are no longer linear. There are times when we do interim, low-paying, low-status work to pay the bills, maintain our Protestant Ethic and reimagine how we can make a good living. I outline some of that in this free read Download Outwitting ageism.

The rub is that we have to let go of what was. Here, also a free read, is my book on reaching beyond our comfort zones. The old-fashioned way of referring to that is "being flexible." Even during the boom 20th century, employment counselors advised those of all generations to be just that: flexible.

A current example of flexible is digital marketer and provocative book author Paul Chaney. Now, over-50, during his career, he has segued from permanent full-time jobs to self-employment to interim assignments to permanent full-time jobs to self-employment. 

Right now, Chaney is an entrepreneur with multiple lines of business. They range from publishing to digital marketing. He markets himself through social networks like LinkedIn and podcasting. 

During the past 18 months I also had to do exactly what I recommend to coaching clients: Let go. My niche in digital communications had become glutted. The demand for career coaching was increasing. As executive coach Henry Coach titles his book "Necessary Endings," I had to end the communications specialization. It was not easy. Understatement.

The must-have mindset for the over-45, at least if you want to keep working, includes these four assumptions:

• Working is better than not working. When not working you lose your sense of how to go to work, your skills and your confidence. You do not acquire new skills. When I was a security guard, I remained socialized to the workplace context. I continued to leverage my communications skills in managing customers, superiors and subordinates. I learned how to detect scams. Before I left, the brass had offered me a supervisory position.

 

• Gear up for multiple forms of income. This isn't just for those oppressed with age bias. MarketWatch featured 32-year-old full-time lawyer Kevin Ha. He has 13 side hustles, including food delivery. Any platform for earnings can collapse. 

 

• Any job is just one job. It is not your last job. You don't have to stay there, not in compensation, not in status, not in possible mobility. A job is a stop-off at which you earn income and become more marketable. Yes, jobs and gigs should be chosen with an eye to an overall marketability.

 

• Let everyone know you are willing to work and are looking for work. The over-65 handyman in my complex has three other gigs in addition to this full-time permanent job. His mantra is: I will do what you need, for pay. 

The platitude is that change is the new normal. But, as Buddhism and other eastern philosophies hammer, change has always been a constant. Impermanence is the fundamental of the human condition.

To roll with that, it could be useful to take in, free, Pema Chodron's YouTube "Fear and Fearlessness." Chodron, who had graduated from posh Miss Porter's, became a Buddhist nun when she felt the ground disappearing beneath her. The second husband announced he was leaving.

While we struggle to continue to make a good living, myriad times the ground will seem to be vanishing. The burden is on us to pivot to the next bit of financial and professional stability.

The work world has become unforgiving. You may be among those who have to reimagine your career. Affordable coaching.  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

The Number-One Reason Your Networking Has Turned You into a Pest

Networking is a multi-use power tool in business.

You can use it in:

Positioning yourself for a promotion, as in partner or head of an administrative unit

Job search

New business development

Introducing a new practice

Gaining access to resources.

But, too many businesspeople, especially those over-50, fail in the process.

That's because you don't understand that networking is a form of horsetrading. Before you enter that space you have to know what you have to trade. And, what's the market for that particular horse.

Otherwise you can be perceived as a pest - or overreacher. And, wind up being shunned.

The prerequisite in networking is to first take an audit of what you could trade. You calculate all that based on your knowledge of both human nature and the needs/wants of particular groups and individuals. What you find out becomes your inventory. As in all businesses, you have to keep that inventory fresh. Toss what's out of date. 

The trading process can start out on a very simple basis.

You make it your business to participate in professional online networks. They range from LinkedIn to specialized groups.

What is proving especially effective is trading your time to "like" and leave thoughtful comments in order to get the attention of those whom are useful to meet. Such action enhances their branding and they know it. Soon enough, they are checking your profile or even messaging.  

Another easy way in is to launch your own media sites. Those are perfect for linking to them, telling their stories and featuring them in interviews. The vehicles to use are growing in number. They include:

Podcasts

YouTube

Paid Newsletters such as Substack or Ghost

Blogs.

You could also develop relationships (again, through networking) with third-party media. Through that connection you can gain attention for those who are necessary for your career. What is published in third-party media can have greater reach than what's on your own platforms.

There are also more imaginative ways to acquire assets for trading. 

At the top of the list is to take advantage of what is known as "the power of weak ties."

In the 1970s, researcher Mark Granovetter discovered that more professional opportunities come through those you know casually versus the supposed key members of your professional network. 

That's because of three reasons. 

They know what you and those on your professional networks don't know. For example, the nurse at the hospital which you're trying to add as a client is aware it's unhappy with the current vendor. Or, the security guard in retail can tell you about a not-advertised job opening in human resources.

Since they are not competing with you, they will share that information. Even within your own organization you and your colleagues are in competition. It isn't in their self-interest to help you, unless they do that as part of their own networking.

They have down cold the lay of the land. As insiders, they can advise you how to approach the opportunity. 

What should be obvious to you is that the trade game is easier with the weak-tie group. The classic example is the strategy of family ties. Your children play with their children. Another classic source of trading is being available for providing generic insight derived from your own expertise. The nurse is considering opening a healthcare placement agency. You explain the forms of business structures. 

Another option for piling up assets to trade is through multiple sources of earning income. Your playing field is broadened. MarketWatch reported on full-time lawyer Kevin Ha. He has 13 side hustles. They include delivering food. There are plenty of people he can network with along the way. The caution there is how to manage all those identities. This article discusses "mutt branding."

Having a broad base of entities to trade puts you in a place of strength. You can enter any niche and know you have what is of value to others.

That's exactly why the most successful networkers don't have rigid boundaries. Or settle into a single sphere of influence. Here, a free read, is my book on exiting comfort zones. In the new normal of a COVID-19 shaped economy, there is no settling in.

The work world has become unforgiving. You may be among those who have to reimagine your career. Affordable coaching.  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Sales w/o Selling - Bob Dilenschneider Can Go Cool in 2021

The gameplan for marketing keeps mutating. And, during COVID-19 times, with so many businesses failing, survival of the fittest keeps requiring new plays.

Sure, for some, the tactics can still include publishing a book. Venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal Peter Thiel put out there "Zero to One." That was in 2014. Currently it still ranks high on Amazon - 8,140. Expect an uptick.

In that guide for entrepreneurs, Thiel discusses applying to clerk for two justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, being rejected and lessons learned. Given the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, sales of any book reflecting on SCOTUS dynamics are bound to soar. 

However, public affairs Manhattan boutique owner Bob Dilenschneider published "Decisions" on December 31, 2019. Currently it ranks quite low on Amazon - 1,024,555. That makes publishing a book, at least for Dilenschneider, a - not a +. 

You bet, book publishing is risky for the non-Thiels as well as the non-Woodwards. Sales are made public on Amazon. That is information available to the author's competitors and enemies. Prospects for the author's services are also aware of the rankings. In America, we count. That's why resume experts hammer to quantify accomplishments. You not only increased traffic for X social site. That totaled 32% in 14 months. 

What Dilenschneider ignored was this: All the other cool marketing tactics he could have invested his resources in. They include podcasting, YouTubing and Instagram. The content of those could have been entertaining. 

The essence of marketing is a distraction from the existential tragedy that is life. 

The message is supposed to lift the targeted demographics from focusing on what is to the promise of what could be. That ability characterized Don Draper's creative talent in AMC's programming "Mad Men."

Successful marketing is actually a process of not-marketing. The response is built-in. The targets respond, kind of on autopilot. 

In constructing his gameplan for 2021, Dilenschneider can dismantle his in-place marketing machine and conjure up the voodoo of sales w/o selling.

The genius in that category is chairman of law firm Paul, Weiss Brad Karp. Each and every outreach doesn't look, walk, talk or smell like marketing. Those range from social justice initiatives to acquiring brandname laterals from his competitors. There is no heavy-handed marketing imprint. 

When I consult with clients for my career coaching services, early into the session it is usually appropriate to introduce the question: Have you considered experimenting with how you are marketing yourself?

Their answer is always "yes." That is because the answers for our economic survival are always within us. Otherwise, caveman wouldn't have had endured long enough to produce the next generation of the human species.

Small changes can have big impacts. Results-driven career coaching.  Affordable rates (sliding scale).  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download UnleashingPossibilitywithJaneGenovaCareerCoaching

 

Timing Is Everything - Madonna Lost Track of Time Passing

Odd.

What was entertainer (or, put more accurately former entertainer) Madonna doing on Instagram supporting hydroxchoroquine as COVID-19 treatment? 

The answer might be: Trying to force the media spotlight back on herself. 

Forbes reports Instagram flagged the video Madonna posted on this essentially as misinformation. 

We roll our eyes. Whatever.

Clearly Madonna is mutating into a symbol of how not to age.

Meanwhile, there are emerging best practices on aging as platform for a new start.

Clint Eastwood leveraged the passage from middle age to old age as a way to experiment with doing serious drama. The results range from "The Unforgiven" to "Million Dollar Baby"

David Letterman has a whole new career. You might have spotted him on television doing sign-language.

Betty White parachuted into being an advocate for the aging - a dumped-on demographic niche in America. 

In contrast, Madonna seems stuck. 

That state of stuckness can destroy Madonna's legacy. Timing is everything. Her time as a performance celebrity was over. She had to rebrand. And didn't. 

The collective memory of Madonna could be a social network gadfly.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Incidentally, We Members of the Mickey Mouse Club Didn't Care About Who Walt Disney Really Was

M-i-c-k-e-y M-o-u-s-e. 

Poof. The iconic Disney logo can be eliminated from popular culture.

Deadline reports there is growing scrutiny of Disney's founder Walt Disney.

He was an obviously flawed human being. In fact, on speeches I had created on leadership for chief executive officers I leveraged his attitudes about his workforce as negatives. For example, he couldn't understand why employees would want higher compensation. After all, went his thinking, weren't they fortunate to be part of his team. In addition, he was in no way the kind of verbally polished leader of today. The undertow of his messaging signaled prejudice.

But that was then. A different time. Entrepreneurs, be they Disney or Henry Ford, could operate by their own rules. 

Today, Bob Iger, by so many current metrics, scores high on leadership. His memoir "The Ride of a Lifetime" captures his ethos of deep caring, especially of all the humans in the loop. They range from employees to consumers. 

On Glassdoor, the overall rating for working at Disney is "4" out of a possible "5."

After retiring from the job of chief executive officer, Iger parachuted back in when the business of Disney became troubled. 

Actually, as I argue in this article, Disney seems stuck. But that's a strategic matter, not a cultural one. Iger has a big job ahead of him.

That, unfortunately, will likely include the struggle to preserve the Disney logo. The founder's flaws have tainted the essence of what Mickey Mouse meant to generations. Part of that was the extreme power of creativity. 

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Bob Dilenschneider, 76 - In the Era of The Social Brand as Everything (and when Google is your homepage)

How is your social media branding doing?

Likely if it's serving your professional needs well, it probably doesn't include a book you published recently.

In digital, "real" books are an anachronism, with some exceptions.

Sure, though, knock out some free e-ones as a download on your website. But, since Google is your new homepage, that website per se has less and less ROI.

Now and then, Google will pick up some content from your website. But the game is actually about what makes it onto search engines about you. Add onto that reality this: Google is currently a major part of your resume. Employers review your social branding. 

And, just as important, in the era of Amazon - as public relations player Bob Dilenschneider should have known - publishing a book is a risk. If it doesn't get traction in Amazon rankings, that book puts the author in what could be called The Amazon Corridor of Shame."

Here's an interesting tidbit in the annals of branding. There's a lesson here. 

On December 31, 2019, scheduled to help folks with their own decisions in 2020, Dilenschneider published the book "Decisions."

Since then, it never did catch fire.

Right now, at 6:00P.M. ET, its Amazon ranking is 700,749.

The number of customers who had reviewed: six.

No Big Brandname has given it gush. After all, both the long-time business celebrities on Dilenschneider's network - Roger Ailes and Jack Welch - have died.

The composite social brand is what counts, not being the author of a book, at least not one which isn't a best-seller or a juicy expose.

The elephant in the room is: Could "Decisions" or, by extension, any book had done okay had there been no coronavirus? A judge on the bench assessing who's in and who's out would rule that issue speculative and irrelevant. All that matters is what's getting attention for and enhancing the social brand in the now. 

Those in the trenches of executive communications in the Fortune 100 and in marketing for BigLaw, for instance, have to embrace that development. That is, if they want to generate results for their clients.

In addition, they are probably struggling to hold onto their jobs during the latest Stalin-like purge of white-collar workers. As The New York Times reports, once they are knocked out the 2020 sandbox, they wind up in suspended animation. Too many do not understand how to grab onto work in a very different phase of the American labor market. They may never land comparable jobs. 

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Workers as Endangered Species - Not Just the Aging

Yes, lives are being lost. So are jobs.

But, the preoccupation is with the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on global and U.S. employment security. 

The UN, reports BusinessInsider, predicts that in Q2, globally 195 million full-time jobs will go poof. 

As we know from other disruptive economic times, some of those jobs may not come back. Will new kinds replace them? Maybe not, in this era of Artificial Intelligence.

So, let's look at implications. 

Universal Basic Income (UBI) provides commonsense financial and social solutions. 

There can be myriad ways of understanding UBI. In this time of disappearing jobs UBI can indicate providing guaranteed income, much like Social Security, to those who opt out of doing what provides income. There are no strings with UBI. 

But the vision for UBI is that those receiving the regular payments will focus on artistic pursuits, volunteering, and organized public works such as building habitats for the low income. 

UBI can prevent social unrest.

Retraining those in hardest-hit sectors such as retail, hospitality, and law-firm staff.

No one has to be a McKinsey management consultant to recognize that in the Post-COVID-19 world order businesses will restructure to (hopefully) prevent another collapse. Since manpower is usually the highest expense the types and numbers of employees and contract workers will be reviewed. 

Those knocked out of the box were probably already an endangered species because of technology. Just look at the self-check-outs in retail, online transactions in hospitality, and remote practice of law.

Retraining can be a national initiative. That will be labeled as making a living "just-in-time." There will be no messaging that the new path will be a permanent one.

Higher education has to conduct a come-to-jesus review about what it is providing its consumers for so much money. 

The tip of the iceberg is the debate about if and how much tuition should be refunded because of the shift from in-person to online instruction. The bigger issue is: What exactly are consumers of higher education receiving?

With students forced to leave campus, the traditional "college experience" as a rite of passage could lose its hold on the nation.

Soon enough what could come down is the assumption that a college degree is necessary for success in the work world. A strengthened public school K-12 system can eliminate the need for much of what is provided in college. The rest can be delivered as-needed.

Much of that can be learned online. Since 2008, most of concepts and technology I needed and still need to master for operating my two communications I picked up online. In the past three weeks I got down cold how to ride and maintain my new motorcycle through instructional videos on YouTube.

As those macro matters are considered and debated, on the individual level we should follow the advice of journalist Ana Marie Cox. On social networks she tells each one of us to pat our selves on the back for getting through yet another day of the Year of COVID-19.

UPDATE:

BusinessInsider reports that Spain is establishing permanent basic income.

Smart global ghostwriting, with SEO and social networking know-how. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Radical Frugality: Hang Out at the Toledo County Public Library

Founding father Ben Franklin had been the primary mover in establishing a way ordinary people had access to books.

That was the public library.

Since that time - the 1730s - the public library has become a lot more than books. Essentially, it's a Third Place, where human beings like to hang out, in addition to their homes, work, and school.

Currently, there are more internet stations, CDs, and DVDs than books. Outreach includes training in everything from how to search for a job to operate Microsoft Office. Groups book the community room for activities such as presenting the secular-humanists point of view.

Obviously, all this requires money. If the funding is less than needed, then the local library system can deteriorate. The brand becomes a joke. People use it less. The media can pile on.

That's why smart public relations is a must-do to keep the flow of funding going. Funding sources usually include:

Federal, state, and local grants

County/city allocations

Levies and referendums

Property taxes

Donations.

One of the best examples of a public library which knows how to tell its story is the Toledo, Ohio Lucas County Public Library. 

Glance at the check-out receipt. At the bottom is, in bold type, the statement:

"You just saved approximately ____ by using your Toledo Lucas County Public Library today."

For me, on 12/28/19, the amount was $140. I had checked out:

Against Empathy

Utopia Is Creepy

What I Wish I Knew When I was 20

Sober curious

Fat, Forty, and Fired

You Are Awesome

Given that I relocated to Toledo at the end of August 2019 and had checked out an average of six books weekly that means that, as the Toledo County Public Library documents, I have saved about $2,240.

Those savings can be channeled into buying more from local merchants. You bet, the public library helps drive Toledo's economy. 

Not long ago I treated myself to one of those specialized bikes from Wersell's Bike Shop, located on W. Central Avenue. The perk from shopping local versus online from a major ecommerce retailer is personal service.

When the bike was making funny noises, Wersell owner Jill had her team repair it w/o charge. An institution in Toledo since 1945, Wersell creates the infrastructure for a biking culture. That enhances the city's green ethos. In turn, that adds to its national profile. 

Another brilliant promotional tactic is the library's seasonal "Program Guide." In print (how cool), the 69-page brochure lists, by branches, all the activities for that time frame. The January - April 2020 one, on pages 17 through 19, has for the Kent branch these categories:

Young Children (0 -5)

Kids (5 -10)

Teens (13 - 18)

Youth

Adults (18+)

All Ages

For adults, free digital courses range from an introduction to Canva to Google Sheets.

A third way Lucas County Library puts itself out there is through its ability to nurture old-fashioned word-of-mouth.

When I mentioned that I would go to Barnes & Noble to try to find a map of Toledo, a neighbor told me that the LaGrange branch stocks those (free) in the lobby. You got it, again I saved money.

In a lecture on architecture, several attendees noted the contours of the West Toledo branch. Go look at it, they told me. 

And, when I needed a book for an upcoming assignment, the local client told me to forget Kindle. The Lucas County library system acts fast on getting to us books not at that particular branch, even new ones. More money saved.

When The Recession finally hits, public libraries throughout America will find their funding in play.

Before that, they can be proactive.

They can analyze how Toledo positions and packages itself as the go-to community resource. They can import aspects of that model.

Public opinion probably has become more powerful than government, leaders, and even wealth.

Smart global ghostwriting, with niche social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Ok, Boomer - "Gillmor Gang" Still Providing Information, Insight into Tech and More

It's listed on TechCrunch. 

Or, just key in on a search engine "Gillmor Gang."

And you will find global thought leaders over-50 presenting developments in the world of tech as understandable and meaningful. There are no Millennial or iGen buzzwords which tend to alienate Ok, Boomer.

The latest broadcast focused on streaming, old and new tech, and the U.S. primaries.

The pace is slow.

The tone is bemused cynicism.

Since the commentators, including host Steve Gillmor, have already made their mark, there is no battle of the egos.

Also, forget make-the-audience-feel-good spin. In analyzing the current impeachment process and 2020 Election there was the recognition of the worse case scenarios. Yes, Donald Trump could politically sail through whatever and be around for four more years.

Takeaway: More of us should set up show with this kind of tone and analysis. One focus could be on the crisis of age bias - and not only in the U.S.

Smart global ghostwriting, with niche social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.