Over-50

Those Professors - We Didn't Leave Them Behind When We Got Our (Multiple) Academic Degrees

"Including its first two hearings, 57 of 82 committee members and witnesses [of the Presidential Commission on the U.S. Supreme Court] are professors, of whom 36 teach at one of six schools: Harvard, Yale, Duke, the University of Chicago, Columbia, and NYU." - Bloomberg Law, July 20, 2021.

We baby boomers were not only the first educated generation. We were the first over-educated one. The mantra back then had been: The more education the better.

Along the way we should have come to at least be skeptical of the credibility and authority of professors.

More likely we probably came to feel strong antipathy against their claims of certitude. The worst I have found during my own journey in over-education were the professors teaching the 1Ls at Harvard Law School.

So, we baby boomers should be in the front lines of concern about both the high number of professors on the SCOTUS Presidential Commission and the predictable reality that they are primarily from the Ivy League.

Will that sort of configuration generate a multi-dimensional review of what goes down in SCOTUS, everything from who tends to get admitted to the club to if a mandatory retirement age is a good idea? Don't bet on it.

The best tutorials I have had on what counts in everything and anything have been from my supervisors and clients in business. They range from an assistant manager with a community college education working in an inner city big box to the mom-and-pop blue-collar owners of a waterproofing firm. 

Over-reverence for higher education, especially the kind served up in elite institutions, didn't end with us baby boomers. As former Yale Professor William Deresiewicz showcases in his book "Excellent Sheep," current college students still are in that box. 

Both the undeserved power of professors and the aura of the Ivy League can end with an aggressive push back against the dominance of professors on the SCOTUS Presidential Commission. Let's demand a recall.

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Baby Boomers - Our First Communion

White dress.

White veil.

White knee socks.

White shoes.

White purse.

White prayer book.

White rosary beads.

White candle.

That was me on my First Communion Day. 

To the present time, I have never felt so important.

That's likely exactly what the one-time brilliant-in-marketing Roman Catholic Church intended in configuring the First Communion ritual. It is a starter sacrament whose aura becomes embedded in both the individual and collective memory bank. My family was beside themselves watching me walk in measured steps up to the altar. 

So, it's no surprise that currently the power structure of Roman Catholicism in the U.S. has zeroed in on communion as the symbol of the need to buy into its whole orthodoxy of beliefs and practices. As is well known, the bishops have been busy bees putting together a manifesto about this sacrament. It seems intended as a stern warning to all who approach its dogma menu on an a carte basis. Among them is U.S. President Joe Biden.

Those close to his administration, such as Brad Karp of Paul Weiss, might advise Biden to, well, smirk. 

Strategically, this busy-bee activity on the part of American Roman Catholicism seems like a very dumb move at the wrong time. And those bishops used to be such smart players.

 Pew documents that of all religions in the U.S. Roman Catholicism has lost the most members. Since the Boston Globe outed clergy sexual abuse of young boys beginning in 2002, there have been a loss of market share, bankruptcies and the shuttering of parish schools. 

Those of us supporting the Biden Administration policies such as pro-abortion could protest in front of our local diocese  headquarters in simulations of our attire for our First Communion.

A budding fashionista can loop into a big brandname by designing the females' Communion Dresses so that they won't be confused with wedding dresses. Much fun to be had. Plus interesting to time travel back to an era when Roman Catholicsm could cast such a spell on our immigrant families in the 1950s. 

Reflection: Is all religion voodoo?

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Also guidance for pre-retirement. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Power - Casting Spells

Much of media coverage has focused on how being part of the Trump Administration has made it difficult for some lawyers to find good jobs.

For instance, Bloomberg Law points out those who have not landed on their feet, at least not yet. Those include William Barr, Jeffrey Rosen, Robert Lighthizer and Pat Cipollone.

Others just have part-time jobs or assignments.

And there are those who took private sector positions who might have preferred the heady experience of being in an elite law firm.

But the story not told often enough are the ones like that of former Attorney General in the Obama Administration - Loretta Lynch.

As Bloomberg Law documents, it took her 17 months to be hired by prominent law firm Paul Weiss. There she is a partner. The usual time to recycle into The Next for former administration lawyers is about six months.

Like lawyers from the Trump Administration, Lynch wound up carrying some heavy baggage.

The most high profile was her meeting with former U.S. President Bill Clinton on the tarmac in Phoenix, Arizona. At the time his wife Hillary Clinton was under investigation for using her private email account.  The New York Times certainly took note of that. Recently that saga grew legs again with the apparent suicide of Christopher Sign who had broken the story of the meeting. Lynch's name was back in the headlines - literally.

Like posts on the internet, that part of Lynch's career may never be able to be buried.

Currently, she could be picking up new baggage. At Paul Weiss she is leading the defense team for the giant Black bias lawsuit "Christine Crawford, et al. v. McDonald's. Here is a copy of the complaint.

The arguments the Lynch team has made include that the franchise contract contains no promise of success and that the corporation has no incentive to create systemic discrimination that would reduce its own earnings. Those seeem solid. The case might lack merit.

Meanwhile, the plaintiffs allege that McDonald's essentially put them on a financial suicide mission. As Mike Snider reports in USA Today, they contend:

" ... that the company steered them to operate restaurants in 'economically depressed,' communities and 'dangerous locations.' These store locations had high rent and operating costs and were likely to generate lower sales than comparable ones elsewhere ..."

That cost structure, the plaintiffs claim, involved higher than average insurance and security expenses. From 1988 through 2018, they operated 200 stores. Overall, that alleged systemic discrimination against Blacks triggered bankruptcy decisions. Meanwhile, they contend, McDonald's gained from its access to consumers in those neighborhoods.

As a woman of color, Lynch's role defending the fast food giant against 52 former Black franchisees can be perceived as not-right. However, it could also be interpreted as a testament to the rightness of McDonald's business transactions with those franchise owners. Look, people could think, even a woman of color is arguing against the allegation of bias against Blacks.

Serving as a lawyer in an any administration, as Lynch's career shows, can be both high-reward and high-risk. No one can predict what the lawyer will choose to do, not do or be "encouraged" to do to be a team player. 

Will the examples of the struggles of those lawyers discourage other lawyers from public service in an administration?

Probably not.

Power and influence cast spells. There is the unique voodoo of being a player in any administration.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

The Holiday Season - Bob Dilenschneider, Joan Avagliano Have Unique Opportunity to Reimaging Book "Decisions"

The holiday season is always magical.

During this time of COVID-19, it's even more so.

That's because we're being forced to conjure up on our own how to snatch joy from the mean jaws of a global pandemic.

With that as platform, public affairs leader Bob Dilenschneider and his long-time all-purpose assistant Joan Avagliano can loop into that mindset. Together, they can reimagine how to position and package Dilenschneider's book "Decisions."

Currently, the Amazon ranking isn't good: 934,383.  And a book as a marketing tool is a terrible thing to waste. "Decisions" can mutate into a path through which The Dilenschneider Group can establish fresh profit centers.

Launched on December 31, 2019 - that is, pre-COVID time - the book examines how world leaders have made decisions. An easy promotional tactic would be to reframe the content to propose how they might make big decisions about how to inspire and strategically proceed during  the invasion of a virus which is way too clever.

Reflection from The Coach: If X continues not to produce the anticipated results, course-correction is the Next. 

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. 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

 

The Rise, Fall and Comeback of (aging) Yale Law Professor Jed Rubenfeld

Media outlets have been busy bees chronicling the fall of Yale Law School professor Jed Rubenfeld.

But that's today.

If he lays low for a while, then soon enough he can conjure up the magic of reputation restoration.

As a career coach, so many have been asking me if Rubenfeld is "comeback material."

In response, I have published this article in Odwyerpr.com.

With the growing number of strategies and tactics in public relations, no one has to be stuck more stuck most stuck. There are Nexts. 

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. Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

The Retirement Dream - How It Keeps You Stuck in 3 Ways

In giving relocation advice to those about to retire, MarketWatch hammers the importance of, well, not retiring. At least, not completely.

Even for a financially comfortable couple, there is a recommendation to grab part-time work and back off from touching the nest egg.

High healthcare expenses may bite them in their pocketbook in the future.

Work is increasingly the necessary hedge.

Overall The Retirement Dream of extreme pleasure and no work can keep you stuck. That's because of 3 realities.

One, you can doom yourself to living on a fixed income. That's the platform for worrying since just about everything, from the cost of housing to that of groceries, is going up. Yes, there is work out there. Here, free to read, is my bible on how to land, hold and move on to better work Download Outwitting ageism.

Two, you socially isolate yourself. Work, from the days of ringing up purchases at CVS in high school to the career-path jobs, is where you have access to God's Plenty.

Isolation triggers more isolation.

When I visited former college acquaintance Kathleen Huebner in an Oro Valley, Arizona retirement community too many residents experienced "shrunk boundaries." They preferred, for example, to celebrate holidays in the development's dining rooms rather than the affordable restaurants beyond that box.

And, three, the ability to work, if you need to (and, surprise surprise, so many need to), can atrophy. In the old days parents mandated their offspring get a job, any job, in order to kick off the go-to-work socialization process.

When I coached displaced lawyers who had lived off severance and savings I noticed that when the money ran out they had difficulty interviewing for even survival jobs such as security guard.

Being without work for too long also resulted in their failure to nail down a position back practicing law. They had put themselves outside the work loop by not working. In addition the adage is on the money: Nothing gets you a job like a job. While doing a job you are maintaining the eager-beaver worker persona.

Once some retirees are stuck, the condition may harder into ossification. They are even fearful, like a number of those in Oro Valley, to venture out and try to amuse themselves in another sandbox. If there is a low-cost tour to X, they pile on the excuses why they have to stay in their box with the worn-out toys.

Takeaway: Structure The Retirement Dream with porous boundaries. That full-time, part-time or gig assignment can wind up being a fresh career path. You might find out you have unexpected talents and skills. Welcome, Late Bloomers.

All the answers are within you. Get unstuck to gain access to all the insight. Intuitive Career Readings (intuitivereadings123@gmail.com) invites you to a 3-minute complimentary session.

 

Your Job Is Gone, Maybe Forever - Don't Let Anyone Lay Resilience Talk on You

Finally, influential The New York Times exposed it: The Resilience Scam, or the pressure to not bother society with your distress about a whatever. It could be a lay off or not making partner at a professional services firm.

According to the resilience cheerleaders the enlightened response to life's difficulties, even the extreme ones, is to demonstrate that you can bounce back. Completely. Quicklsy. And without using a lot of society's resources. 

Obviously, in a sense, that's a version of blaming the victim. And there's a lot of that during COVID-19 with so many layoffs. Some of those jobs, especially white collar ones, are not coming back. Those professionals have to start from square one. 

The reality is that resilience is not required. All that is needed to navigate the ups and downs of a career is to be straight with yourself about how you view the reversal of fortune and not allow any person, place or thing to get you stuck. That doesn't mean you will land a new job in a few months. What it does mean is that you won't get trapped in a loop of powerlessness.

After Bill Clinton lost the campaign for governor he made it his business not to get stuck in the setback. In fact, he used it as his teacher. Although not a Buddhist, Clinton understood that fundamental of transforming the negative into power lessons.

If society stopped with the resilience mandate there might be a plunge in the suicide rate. 

All the answers are within you. Get unstuck to gain access to all the insight. Intuitive Career Readings (intuitivereadings123@gmail.com) invites you to a 3-minute complimentary session.

Everyone Is the Over-50 Pickle - 4 Questions to Ask Yourself to Figure Out If You're Stuck (even if you're a Gen Zer)

Blame it on systems theory.

Organizations and careers come to be thought of as living, breathing entities. When they stop functioning well, they are said to be "stuck." Consultants parachute in to get them unstuck. 

Most applied systems theory.

Not enough told those paying the consulting bill that is the human beings who operate those organizations or put together careers who are the sources of the stuckness. 

Sure there are external factors. The economy. New technologies making what-is obsolete. Shifting consumer tastes. Age bias. Personal problems. 

But why some organizations and careers derail and some don't amid those conditions is usually because of this: One or more human beings got stuck. The most brilliant marketing communications won't cut it, not for long. Stuck has a way to keep stuck. What's needed is to get unstuck. 

When that is impossible, then an unstuck pro has to come in.

That's why, in the early 1990s, IBM has to cut loose chief executive officer John Akers. A first that conservative corporation. It brought in the outsider with no preconceptions. That was Lou Gerstner Jr.

Before that, nearly bankrupt Chrysler brought in Lee Iacocca. He had nothing to lose after being fired from Ford. So, he wasn't dragging in "oughts" like dog turds on his shoe.

And, I have a hunch after he also got the boot from Apple Steve Jobs got himself untangled from what was holding him back. 

If your organization is sputtering or your career is stalled, including in joblessness, that's about you. 

The good news is that, since all the answers are inside you, you can get yourself unstuck.

That is, if you can embrace that you are off the game.

How can you assess that?

Ask yourself 4 questions?

• Are the stories you're telling yourself about your professional performance full of blame or praise? Both are red flags. You shouldn't be engrossed in so much self-talk.
• Are the stories you're telling others falling short of any authentic connecting? That means you're not exchanging the information and insights you need for your organization and career. There's a reason for that.
• Do you regret your setbacks? Shame on you. They are your teachers.
• Are you asking others for "permission" to do this or that? Obviously, you've lost your confidence.

Unfortunately, most of those for whom I've done communications assignments couldn't manage to unglue themselves from hardened mindsets and behavior patterns.

However, what they noticed was that the intuitive observations I made about them, not the organization or careers, was what got things moving again. That's because they got moving again.

They requested more intuitive career readings and less communications strategy.

That's how IntuitiveCareerReadings had been born during The Great Recession. The New York State Bar Association invited me to lecture displaced lawyers. Odwyerpr.com published my articles. My target market back then was the over-50. 

Then there was a recovery. And more of a margin for error.

IntuitiveCareerReadings became a side dish on the menu of services.

Now, it's the main dish. And it seems like the only dish. Demand has surged with the wildness of 2020. All generations are asking for me to take a peek to check out if they are stuck. However, the over-50 are experiencing more of a challenge landing, holding, and moving on to better work than in The Great Recession. 

For a complimentary 3-minutes, please make an appointment at intuitivereadings123@gmail.com. You might not need any more than those 3 minutes to start the unstuck. 

All the answers are within you.

From now on, this blog is getting unstuck from its traditional content. I am transforming it into a platform for helping professionals help themselves in their jobs, entrepreneurship and career paths. 

Weird, Like Our Grandparents/Parents

The fear was: another lockdown.

After all, Lucas County, Ohio still has a growing number of new cases of COVID-19. There are more deaths. 

But, surprise. Last night the local news announced that there would be some re-openings. That is, some places where residents of Toledo can go and get out of the house.

One re-opening is the local movie theatre - Cinemark at Franklin Park. Right now, it's showing classics such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" for $5 for adults.

How film buffs have longed to be back in the dark, transported into another dimension. That parallel universe can be more real to some of us than what's foisted on us as "real life." Also, it's been an old-fashioned platform for maintaining emotional stability. 

On Monday, the Lucas County Public Library also will be re-opening. Most branches will be available for limited computer use, access to WiFi and an hour browsing the book shelves and checking out selections. For years, the public library has been a key Third Place. It's where both adults and children went to hang out, attend free special events, and have access to free books, videos, and music CDs. 

Already, some support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous have been meeting in-person. But since social distancing makes for limited seating, members have to get there early if they want to be admitted to a particular meetings. Yes, they have to wear masks. No coffee is served. And the room is disinfected after each meeting. That access is likely saving lives. 

However, having someplace, anyplace, to go could be on short time. There are healthcare experts predicting that COVID-19 will circle back when the cold weather comes.

There may be no Halloween and no Christmas in 2020. We will stare into the Netflix abyss. The local television channels will blare platitudes that we are all in this together. Yet, people die alone from COVID-19. During the night they are by themselves with their anxiety about unemployment and under-employment. If they are evicted they are frequently without any safety net. 

Hope seems premature.

And, like our relatives who had made it through The Great Depression, we might become weird.

Already I have developed a phobia about spending money. The same thing is happening to those on my social network. Adversity might not make you better.

It just might make you a caricature of a human being. The universe has cast an ugly spell. 

The Message Glut. You need bold strategy/ghostwriting. Let’s talk about what will work. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com.