Twenty - Twenty

Twenty - Twenty

While you mostly would have started thinking about a cricket match, its not about cricket but for sure about your innings in your professional career. Let me start with 3 basic question for you -

# How long is your professional Career ? 

# Where do you see yourself when you have 30+ years of experience ? 

# What is the high hanging fruit you have been targeting, have you found one 😏 ? 

I am sure it must have already triggered your #thinkingcap and also may be you just said to yourself, "Shit, i never thought of them" 😃

Well, that's what happened to me a few months back as well and when i answered them i realized ones professional career has always to be planned in two innings, the first half (first 20 years) and the 2nd half (next 20 years); That's how I started calling it the twenty-twenty career planning ! 

I remember when i started my career as an engineering graduate and in interviews if someone asked me,  "Where do you see yourself 10 years down the line ?",  it really stood a tall question to answer back then. The best i could get to answer this question was, "I see myself as a Manager, an Architect etc.". I am pretty sure your story must have been similar and probably your answers were similar too. But wonder if someone would have asked you then "Where do you see yourself 30 years down the line ?",  what would you have thought, probably  it was too early then to answer the question, but the real question is do you have the answer now ?

Anyone's professional career is roughly 40 years long, however very less people plan for the 40 years. Most of us, really don't even realize that our professional career is 40 years long and we keep running after the low hanging goals which will give us what we think "Success" for the first 20 years. This is also one of the key reasons why lot of people get more dissatisfied, feel downplayed, dip passion for their work in the later part of the first 20 years of their career. The real gap is, we keep focusing on the low hanging goals and look for high satisfaction / reward of them.  As you already realize there is a miss match of the input and the output, hence we are bound to feel downplayed and not feel content. 

Well, if you are already in near 20s for your career or even further, its never late - start planning now for your 2nd innings; The reason why i call it the 2nd innings (i.e. the 2nd 20 years of your career) is because you need to plan and approach it very differently that your first innings. The first 20 years are going to be about going and achieving low hanging goals, which you will be able to see ahead of you, be able to meet them in 1-2 years of a time lap & feel rewarded for achieving them. Not to demean your effort of achieving these goals, they will be complex and hard to achieve but will be low hanging. You will need to identify high hanging goals for your career for your 2nd innings; These goals will be ambiguous, will require multi facet skills to achieve, will take long time lap - 3-5 years to achieve and be differently rewarded (e.g. may not be a promotion but a bigger responsibility). 

Talking through lot of people who are in their 2nd innings of their career, what i realized is really 2nd innings is going to be the game play you will be know For & As;  Your grand children are not going to know you as a Software Engineer you were when you started your career in XX company.  So its really worth planning for your 2nd innings.

Thinking Cap ?

I don't think its hard to plan for your 2nd innings, my mantra to get started is asking some questions on an ongoing basis to yourself -

a) What is the high hanging goal I want to target next, how long will it take (should not be promotion, salary hike etc.) ?

b) What is the growth I want to see in myself in next 5 years (should be something like a qualification, new leadership persona for your self, new professional dimension etc.)?

c) What are the things I need to do in a phased manner to achieve my goal ? 

I guess one should ask these questions once every year to themselves and retrospect as they move along playing their 2nd innings. 

                              

                                 Whats in your Thinking Cap on this topic, do share / comment ?

   

My Last Working Day

There is always a saying, First Impression is the Last one! but is it really so :).  I believed it 10 years back, but all my experiences over years made me realize the quote is incomplete in the corporate context we are all in. Lets try to complete it.. 

Story: It’s a story of an employee on his Last Working Day, coming to the office preped to leave his last marking note, has mixed emotions, deep feelings to miss his team , a feeling of accomplishment and full of anxiety/excitement for his next journey.  What does one expect out of this so very important day ? I am sure the answer is just the same for all of us, "One expects the day to be the greatest, full of joy and pride as it marks completion to a journey one started long back, paid a price in terms of hard work, personal sacrifices and a big portion of ones passion to succeed as a team." Isn't is so.

I am sure, took you back to your Last working day's in your careers and make you feel happy remembering good times, good team and most importantly symbolize your own experience with the leaders you worked with.  One of the key events you will clearly remember and will be able to echo will be how you were celebrated by your leaders on the last day. Believe me it's so very important for oneself. 

I have experienced this myself couple of times now :) and what I have realized is I remembered my past leaders lot by how was their interaction with me was on my LWD. It's like their signatures to me they left in my mental landscape.

For us as leaders it could be another employee exiting, but for the employee its end of a journey he/she chose to go with you along, it's a transition for the person and the team, it's about going through a change and getting ready for the next one. Should it not be celebrated !, absolutely a 100% of the time.

Say you boarded a flight from London to New York with an airline. When you enter the flight at the origin, all of them will try to welcome you, make you sit comfortable to start the journey. However, what really stuck me always for the DNA for an airline was how they greeted me while I de-boarded the plane, what really persisted with me is when the crew said at the exit "Thank you for flying with us". An employee departing for the team is as good as end of a hop in the journey for a team and you, as they get ready for the next flight.

It going to be the last thing to remember, its like the desserts you have after your full course meal. Now if all the meal was the greatest, but the desserts was not good, all you will talk to your friends and family is about the desserts and not recommend the restaurant. If say for instance the starters were not the best but deserts were awesome, you still cherish your experience in the restaurant. So, in a team your last impression as a leader is the most lasting impression.

This is the last opportunity for you as a leader to make the experience complete for the employee, your last opportunity to leave your final mark as a leader, your final opportunity to stand as a true leader whom the individual will feel good to be part of his journey :)

Morale: While the First impression is the last one, the last one is the lasting one !

Tips -

• Celebrate the journey of the individual (It's not about cutting a cake or making a speech, it's about truly valuing, letting the individual know of great things he/she did to the team)
• Be insightful on details you value ones contribution
• Talk about the journey of the team and the individual (Do remember, the team is never going to be the same team anymore, as any one person put in a team or pulled out from the team, changes the team)
• Thank truly and enough, don’t BS
• Do remember, it's about you & your signature and not about individuals image.