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A recent Harvard Business Publishing article by Marshall Goldsmith generated a discussion about Brett Favre’s retirement and subsequent ‘unretirement’ from football.
The point is that Favre’s retirement didn’t work. I think it’s because he got trapped by the idea of ‘retiring.’ Traditionally, retirement meant stop working and do nothing – or something close to nothing. In the article, Favre, when asked what he was looking forward to doing, is quoted as saying, “Nothing. And I’m going to stick to that until I do something else.’ That might have worked a generation ago when a person only expected to live a few years past the typical retirement age of 65.
At 38, Favre is certainly not a candidate for traditional retirement. Nor are most people, no matter their age. Instead of retiring and ‘doing nothing’ the key is to transition into something else – something that gives meaning, purpose and satisfaction.
Sometime over the next few years Favre will once again face the ‘retirement decision.’ This time, there will be no turning back. His body, or management, will tell him that ‘This time, for real, it’s time to move on.’ and he’ll still have 20, 30, 40 or more years ahead of him. Income, the dollars kind, probably won’t be a problem for him but he’ll be looking for something to do with his life that gives him ‘psychic income’ – pleasure he derives from doing what he really enjoys doing day after day.
In short, his challenge will be to think of transition instead of retirement.
When I went through my transition (I wouldn’t let anyone use ‘The R word’), I had to deal with some major emotional issues. I imagine lots of people have faced similar ones:
- I was living out my life purpose – building an organization.
- My work was who I was. It was my identity.
- I had built the team and, together, we grew the company.
- I loved the activity – being ‘in the middle of things.’
- I loved being in control, the challenge of making decisions, working with my partners and developing people
- I had great community recognition. I served on high profile community boards because I was involved with a successful, growing company.
- My family name was on the door of a highly successful company. That gave me a lot of ego satisfaction.
- I was doing well financially – the company was growing rapidly which increased both my income and my stock value. This was important to me because I (and my family) had made major financial commitments, during the recession a few years before, to keep the company alive.
You, too, will face the ‘Retirement or Transition’ decision some time in the years ahead – no matter if you are an owner, a leader or an employee. I frequently meet people who either hung on to their ‘past’ for too long (draining the company of its vitality) or took the traditional retirement route and discovered that their life is empty and without pleasure.
Because transition is a process, not an event that happens one day, it’s important to be prepared well in advance. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you prepare:
- What is it that I particularly enjoy about work? Is it identity, relationships, activity, income, etc? Which of these items do I want to continue into my transition?
- What parts of me are not being satisfied and rewarded in my work situation? How can I integrate them into the next phase of my life?
- What is my vision for ‘the other side of my transition?’ What will it look like, how will it feel? What will being ‘there’ do for me?
- What are my strengths? How can I build on them in a productive, satisfying way?
- When do I want to make the transition? What steps can I take now to start the process?
There will be life after playing football for Brett Favre. It may be coaching or it may be something different. The key thing for him to do is start thinking about the rest of his life – now.
The same thing is true for you. Statistically, you have a minimum of 10 years of active life after you leave ‘work’ – maybe many more, depending on when you make your transition and how long you live. (If you are an independent professional (lawyer, etc,) an inventor or an artist/writer you may be able to keep doing what you love with only minor adjustments to your lifestyle.)
Letting go and moving on can be a difficult challenge. The key is to plan ahead, starting 10 to 15 years in advance, choosing the future you want to create and taking steps to create it.
Peter Wendel is President of Peter Wendel Group (Buffalo, New York) an organizational consulting firm dedicated to building high performance organization that are able to prosper and grow in these rapidly changing times by offering succession planning, strategic thinking, team building and leadership development services. He blends a passion for organizations and people with a lifetime of experience both as a business leader/manager and an accomplished consultant.
The Peter Wendel Group specializes in succession planning, building on three elements:
- Building a strong sustainable organization in which people are aligned toward achieving a shared vision and are in positions that build on their personal strengths and aspirations.
- Developing a cadre of people who have the vision, passion, talent and skills to become the ‘next generation’ of leaders.
- Helping the current leaders prepare to make the ‘Grand Transition’ from work into what I call ‘the third phase’ of their lives.
Email: pkwendel@aol.com
Company Profile: Peter Wendel Group
Company URL:
http://www.peterwendelgroup.com
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