Over-50

Transcending Not Only Criminal Record, But Also Age: Felicity Huffman

Unlike fellow CollegeAdmissions "sinner" Lori Loughline, Felicity Huffman was properly remorseful. She played that well in court

Her persona was sad and her look haggard.

Later, in prison, the media dutifully reported that she was suffering emotionally. 

During her one year of supervised release, Huffman laid low. No getting caught in too many star snaps.

Now, reports Daily Mail, she, at age 57, has achieved a full comeback in her acting career. In addition to some bit roles, she will be in a television comedy produced by Aaron Kaplan's Kapital Entertainment.

That means she transcended both a criminal record and age. 

Meanwhile time will tell if she can regain the prominence of her role in the hit "Desperate Housewives."

Takeaway: Don't be a smartaleck when caught playing a privilege card.

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Aging - Is That the Big Bad Wolf Chasing Maria Bartiromo?

Is there a big bad wolf that Maria Bartiromo is afraid of? Sure seems like it. And the result is that she, like Greta Van Susteren, is deep-sixing her career,

Some recall how both on-air personalities at Fox stood loyal to Roger Ailes when he was first investigated for alleged sexual harassment.

The two had different fates. Van Susteren left or was pushed out. Her next job - it was at MSNBC - didn't pan out. And, now she's doing Sunday morning. That's "Full Court Press." It doesn't seem to be catching fire. She's not a Sunday A.M. kind of persona. Also, there is speculation that she had had a stroke. 

Well, Bartiromo held onto her position at Fox. But the issue is now: For how much longer?

Very recently, she has been vilified by media critics for her non-interview of Donald Trump about the election. Instead, as it's being positioned and packaged, she provided a platform for Trump to do his usual ranting. So much for her credibility. Essentially she let the interviewee control the interview. 

Is aging the big bad wolf Bartiromo seems to need to placate?

If it feels, looks and talks likes some entity is chasing Bartiroma, maybe there is. Could it be aging? In general, television is not kind to female on-air personalities. Fox, post-Trump Administration, may find her a vestige from the past. Therefore, a liability. The cable network will have to adjust to a new Administration. There probably will be many changes.

Like Van Susteren, Bartiromo could be gone. The odds are, if she winds up looking for a new job, its branding will represent several steps down. 

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"A Million Little Things" Reminds Us How Difficult Youth Can Be

With the season's first episode of "A Million Little Things," the audience meets up with a weathered bunch.

No longer are they the youthful-looking group of Boston Millennials introduced several years ago. Each member has suffered, each in his or her own way.

Although the group seems hopeful that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, one wonders if they are up to how life keeps testing them. 

The latest ordeal is that Eddie, Katherine's husband, is a victim of a hit and run.

The audience knows but he doesn't, at least not yet, that the miscreant is associated with his past. That bit is the night long ago when a friend died but he was in a blackout. So he doesn't recall the details. When he reaches back into the past to connect the dots he hits up against trouble. Someone or a number of someones doesn't want him not digging around.

Eddie survives. But is paralyzed, with about a 10% chance of ever walking again. Life has intervened - brutally - on this family unit which was just healing from alcoholism, adultery, a son acting out and a baby girl produced out of wedlock.

That means that this episode doesn't even mention how Katherine is doing with her newly established solo practice. Her whole role as a lawyer has been a weak plot and character-development link in this series. 

When we first encounter Katherine she is a wound too tight associate at a law firm. She is obsessed with becoming partner. No surprise, Eddie strays into the arms of their mutual friend D. A baby is conceived. Then Katherine begins to soften. When offered partner she puts up as a condition that she can go home in the evening for dinner with her son. She indicates she will return to the office later. 

The answer is "no." And that's that. No partnership, which is not believable. She had worked too hard for that. In addition, later, as she continues to change, she quits the law firm. Although the family breadwinner she optimistically launches her own solo practice. The group gives her free space. 

Being a solo is, as those in the legal sector know, a tough way to struggle to make a living. Therefore, it would have been more credible if Katherine had been in high angst - or better yet, searched for a better fit for a job rather than quitting. She may be a great lawyer but she has no experience operating a business which demands non-stop marketing. Solo practices succeed or fail based on how well lawyers promote their enterprise.

The coming attractions for the next episode in two weeks are dark. Eddie has become discouraged about his life. The group seems thrown off its game in which the rule is to stick together and everything will be okay. 

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"Today" Much-Loved Al Roker Announces His Own Encounter with Some Very Bad Weather

For decades, on "Today" weatherman Al Roker not only tipped us off about whether we needed an umbrella.

His warm and upbeat presence somehow always reassured us we could get through another day. Yeah, like Mary Richards throwing up her hat on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

More recently, Roker shared with viewers the "talk" he, as do most Black parents, had to have with his son. It was about the safe way for his son to conduct himself if stopped by the police.

This week he shared something else. That's his own run-in with some nasty weather. He has an aggressive form of prostate cancer. That will require surgery.

So many of us are lifting our hearts in prayer that Roker will be back on 'Today." 

America needs Roker in the A.M. 

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The Aging Megyn Kelly - Struggle to Put Together The Comeback

Sure, this mandate from California's Governor Gavin Newsom could make it to "SNL."

But already, knocked from the entertainment box (and former law firm Jones Day associate) Megyn Kelly is leveraging it as a platform for a comeback. Daily Mail features her vilification of those orders for how the residents of CA have to spend their Thanksgiving. 

Among the rules are:

• Dinner be outside (yes, you can go inside to use the bathroom but only if it has been sanitized)
• Guests limited to 3 households
• People must sit 6 feet apart
• Masks are a must, except when eating
• Duration of dinner not to exceed 2 hours.

No surprise, Kelly, who is operating her own podcast media, ridicules it. As if she couldn't find a more seminal issue. Her tragic flaw is that she can't engage, at least not beyond the brittle Fox News politico persona. And, I have a hunch she won't have much of sustained reach with this podcasting one. 

What's obvious is that the warm and fuzzy type of Normal Rockwell Thanksgiving isn't welcome in CA. Since that state is a trendsetter, Newsom's model can catch on.

So, there the nation will be, at the McDonald's drive-thru each person ordering up 2 turkey burgers, double french fries, small green salad, a sugary beverage and chocolate chip cookies.

And we can enjoy a good belly laugh as we share our horn of plenty with two other households outside in a Midwest winter. Things, as we head into the Winter of COVID-19, maybe won't get better than that. 

Meanwhile, Kelly might be betting her promotional chips on something we are too exhausted to care about. 

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You Bet, You Want Your Maypo Now (especially if it's associated with an ageism lawsuit)

This has becoming increasingly common: Click on the link in a media article, supposedly back to an important document like the copy of the lawsuit. And what comes up is not what was supposed to. I label that The Link To Somewhere Else.

And, among the miscreants is, surprisingly, Bloomberg Law. The article is about former "Jeopardy!" behind the scenes employee Glenn Kagan. He is suing Sony Pictures Entertainment and Quadra Productions for alleged ageism. He had been terminated.

The first sentence of the second paragraph contains a link. That's supposed to direct readers back to the complaint itself. And since Bloomberg Law often offers that document and other legal media sites don't the policy has created added value.

Several times I clicked on the link. All that happens is that I circle back to the Bloomberg Law website and not to the document.

Disappointing.

Ageism is a niche within my career coaching practice. Here, for example, is my ebook about how the unemployed over-50 can exit their comfort zones. Dale Carnegie Systems put it on its website. And, here is the backgrounder on my coaching Download ReimaginingYourCareerWithJaneGenova

Hopefully, as this Saturday morning segues into Saturday afternoon, the right link will be provided us. We need to read the particulars. Ageism is the step-child in diversity. Businesses and individuals seem to be getting away with it. But not other aspects of diversity such as gender or racial bias. 

Note: There is, however, a link to the complaint after the article wraps. Here is "Kagan v. Sony/Quadra." The problem is this: In this era of ADD, few make it to the end of a post. There was that iconic television hot-cereal commercial in the mid 20th century. The child insists that he wants his Maypo now. So do we.

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The World Has Changed - Mark Read Put It Out There How Age-Biased Ad World Is

It got out: The glam world of advertising is riddled with ageism. 

LinkedIn reports that Mark Read, chief executive officer of giant ad firm WPP, noted that the average age of the employees was "less than 30." 

Read was crowing. This was intended to be a big + for WPP. Ah! So much youth at WPP!

Since ageism is heavily embedded in the American brand of capitalism, Read probably didn't realize what he was saying. 

Of course, that comment has triggered outrage. Read apologized. 

But, as they say in legal circles, the egg had been cracked. The bell had been rung.

It was made public that those over-30 were not welcome in the ad world, not in 2020. Come to think of it, Don Draper from "Mad Men," set in the 1960s, would probably have been pushed out because of his age. Draper made his creative mark in advertising in a pre-digital era.

Here's where things stand on September 2, 2020: Finally, the bias against aging workers is getting attention. Previously, it had been the one aspect of the campaigns for diversity that had little traction.

In fact, as MarketWatch hammered, COVID-19 has given employers "permission" to escalate forcing out older members of the workforce. 

However, even before the pandemic, ProPublica documented that more than half of employees over-50 would be leaving their job involuntarily. And of those fortunate enough to land new jobs only one out of 10 would earn comparable compensation.

The push-back unleashed by Read's disclosure will start the same kinds of movements against age bias as has caught fire for discrimination against race, gender and sexual orientation. 

Meanwhile, though, the aging men and women have to pay their bills, right. You need work. Right now.

Here, free to download, is my bible on how you can earn a living, no matter your age. Actually, there is still runway for upper mobility. The American Dream is not over. 

And, here is another free read on how to get out of your own way. So many of the over-50 I had coached had held themselves hostage to the past. Instead of searching for opportunities in the now they were struggling to replicate former success. I have labeled that syndrome Stuck More Stuck Most Stuck. 

I end each coaching session with a call to action. 

For those of you who have lost out on a promotion, plum assignment, being hired or holding onto a job because of ageism, figure out one thing you can do to neutralize that factor.

Suggestions:

• Go over your resume and lop off the work experience before the last 10 years. Not only does that baggage make you appear old. You come across as too-experienced. In the fast time of the digital era skills atrophy in a few years.

 

• Donate your television set to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. You can get needed news on the internet and sitting there watching the television siphons away time for exercise, reconfiguring job search materials, meditation, gig assignments and just being out there listening to what people are saying. For the aging, that box is not the one we should be playing around.

 

• Role play a job interview with a trusted friend. Practice, just as salespeople do, how to gain control of it without seeming to get control of it. The game is about getting across the message to those hiring: Here's what I can do for you. And I can do it better, faster and more affordably than anyone else. 

 

• Learn something new. It doesn't have to be work-related. You will have that Ah-Ha sensation that, yesyesyes, you are still an open system.

One more thing. Know that you're not alone in being thrown off balance by aging. 

Everyone over-50 who has come to me for coaching admits how difficult the transition has been. 

One made this analogy: "I thought it was the end of the world to go from college to the adult responsibility to having to support myself. But when I hit my mid 50s and I started being treated differently at work that was a harder situation to figure out and navigate." But figure out and navigate it she did.

The answers about your professional life are inside you. You will learn through coaching how to open yourself up to them. And get unstuck. Soon enough you will be your own coach. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download PleaseMeetYourCareerCoachJaneGenova

 

 

 

Aging - You Were Hot, Not You're Not, Shot at Returning to Hot

Even youth has its the grim encounter with being hot, then not.

Remember climate change activist Greta Thunberg. COVID-19 stole her thunder.

More typical is the downward trajectory of child stars such as Maculay Culkin. 

But, when the loss of hot happens to an aging player the suffering can be profound. That's because they assume - wrongly - they don't have another shot at BigSuccess. 

In itself, that expectation that they're "finished" blocks their putting together an attention-getting Next. 

The reality is that the Next can be put in play for those who are open. For the new door to open the former one has to be shut. 

The prime example is Clint Eastwood. He was open to letting go of his signature action films. He embraced serious drama. Currently Eastwood is more known for films like "Million Dollar Baby" than his earlier work.

One-time tech innovator Bill Gates forged a next and even more fame than he had on this first round. The shift has been to philanthropist. That was right in time to be the voice of reason during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And, Betty White, in a Hollywood which discards women early in the game, carved out a fresh identity through being an advocate for the aging.

Here's what I recommend to those I coach who have gotten stuck:

• You are your story. Stop telling the one about being a vice president of communications at a Fortune 50. Focus the narrative on what you are now exploring. Through that story line you could attract help to reach your new goals.
• Shift the focus from maximizing income to acquiring the know-how in the new field. A former management consultant came to me desperate to match her previous compensation. I told her she would hit a wall unless she ditched that perspective. Once she did she eventually made her mark as an intuitive coach. Continually media outlets quote her. It's irrelevant to her how much she is earning, as long as she can make ends meet. 
• Prune the network. Those from the past can block the lanes needed to navigate to get to what could pay off big. The longer in our lives we work to earn income the more colleagues, superiors, subordinates, clients, customers and old college acquaintances we will have to ditch. A useful read in Henry Cloud's "Necessary Endings."
• Have no expectations. Just go out there and try new things. If money is low, grab a survival job. Actually that could be fun and you wind up less tightly wound. Here is my book, free to read, on how to land, hold, and move on to better work, at any age Download Outwitting ageism.

One more thing. Yes, there really is a phenomenon called the "late bloomer." You might not have made it big the first time but you could pull that off the second or third. Only as he matured did Frank Lloyd Wright attract fame and influence. An amazing book about the emergence of peak performance later in life is David Galeson's "Old Masters and Young Geniuses."

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.

 

The Invisibles - So? (we fall asleep at night and stay asleep)

Who hasn't hunkered down with British television during shelter-in-place? And, since so few things have reopened, we are still clicking it on. 

Such premium entertainment. 

A past favorite had been "World on Fire," which focused in on a British and a Polish family during World World II.  Of course, part of the plot had been several poignant love stories. One did pan out. 

But, superior standard broadcasting doesn't insulate the UK from the unemployment woes Main Street America is experiencing during COVID-19.

MarketWatch reports that businesses in the UK indicate that about 33% of them will reduce the workforce this quarter. That data came through a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the Adecco Group. 

For the global economy such findings are a red flag. The profound suffering among some will increase.

Meanwhile, there are categories shielded from the worst of times.

Among them - which may surprise youth - is those of us who are older. Use the term "older." Don't tell us we are "old."

On the surface we over-50 are The Invisibles. Both in professional and in social life, we begin to be ignored "after a certain age." However, many of us are thriving. Some are even Late Bloomers.

We have a bit of investments. Those include our retirement funds. Currently there might be a ROTH IRA.

Either at the standard age of eligibility or early at 62 we filed for Social Security. That's regular income. 

But the absolute gift from the Universe has been Medicare. For some it's the first time in years there is health insurance. For others, even simply with routine care, it saves thousands of dollars annually. Just consider what the dental bills used to be without Supplemental Medicare Advantage coverage from AARP. 

In addition, more and more of us have made it our business to continue to bring in income. No, the source doesn't have to be prestigious such as a job on Wall Street or doing freelance assignments for the Fortune 100.

It can simply be working in loss prevention in a big box. Or setting up an online enterprise educating folks how to boost their rankings on search engines. After all, Google, not our websites, are our homepage.

Here, free to read, is my book on how to land, hold and move on to better work, no matter one's age Download Outwitting ageism.

Yes, our generation has been able to shake off the ego need for status in work - or even the notion of a career. #WhatIStoppedDoing is gushing about success.

Instead the new status symbol, at least in some circles, is the ability to fall asleep at night and stay asleep. Not enough reflect on how the struggle for peace of mind can finally be won as human beings become older. 

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.

Want to Remain Marketable? Ditch What You Learned in College Freshman Composition

It's that bad.

Possibly it's the end of work in journalism for too many of those driven to get the story. Yes, Axios indicates that the layoffs in the newsroom during the first six months of 2020 (with more to come) have become so over the top.

The unthinkable is no longer unthinkable: Some journalists, even brandname ones, will have to decide to leave this purpose-driven career path.

During the first six month of 2020 (much of it COVID-19 time) more than 11,000 jobs have been lost in the news industry.

Among them have been those on furlough who were informed they're officially laid off. Goodbye. All hope is lost. The news media outlets taking that ultimate step range from the BBC to Vox. 

But the disruption goes beyond newsrooms, doesn't it.

What seems to be occurring in this digital era is that the very essence of how human beings take in the world and interpret it may be mutating. In addition, the sense of timing has changed.

Editorial, that is linear narrative, is becoming too complex a form of data display to bother with. We scan headlines and pull in a few bits from them. We feel we have to be in an accelerated time cycle.

So, we opt for snippets. As in ad copy. Fictional Don Draper from "Mad Men" would be in demand right now. His mind did not operate in a linear narrative manner. 

That is one reason why traditional content creation is increasingly badly paid. Some help-wanted notices on the Pro Blogger type platform indicate 2-cents per word. Others boast they pay competitive rates, that is, 4-cents a word. In 2004, as an editor, I paid up to $1.25 per word. 

In contrast, the copywriting kinds of the use of language and organization pay much better, even in this recessionary economy.  In addition, demand for all that is increasing.

Will college professors have to revise the curriculum for How to Write?

Could be.

The tightly organized exposition the Ok, Boomer had been trained to do in Freshman Composition may be too ponderous to be readable. The flow may be too smooth. Bring in the bumpy. That's fun. Roller coaster? Maybe too much. 

Fragmentation can emerge as the preferred style. At least in myriad forms of communications.

Sure, the management consulting firms will still produce tightly organized white papers. Those have their place in the data-display sandbox.

Product reviewers of software will still use narrative descriptions of pros and cons. There are so many nuances and tradeoffs.

On BigLaw websites, the partner profiles will have detailed traditional success narratives. 

Judges will continue to expect the highly documented briefs arguing a motion.

And children need old-fashioned stories. A clear beginning, middle, and an end are centering. The continuum bestows safety.

However, overall what is put out there to get, hold, and scale attention is more snippet than plodder.

The human mind seems to have catapulted to a very short version of short form. Social branding is created in shorthand. And, of course, we all are our social brand. On LinkedIn, many displaced professionals are experimenting with how to put together their new social identity. 

In marketing timing is everything. Complimentary consultation on your marketing communications in COVID-19 time. janegenova374@gmail.com.