Marc thanks his listeners, and invites you to take an audience survey about the podcast, so he can provide more of what you want in the coming year. He discusses his interest in podcasts and books, and how he decided to launch the Repurpose Your Career podcast in support of his book, Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. Marc goes on to describe how the show has evolved once the book launched, and finally, what he plans for 2018 and beyond.
Listen in for a look at Marc’s processes of launching and running a podcast and making it appeal to you.
Key Takeaways:
[1:22] Marc thanks you, the listeners. Please fill out an audience survey to help guide how Marc can continue to serve his audience with helpful content. Marc also invites you to give your honest review of this podcast on iTunes.
[3:00] In August of 2016, Marc had the idea of the Repurpose Your Career podcast, to support the launch of the next edition of his book, Repurpose Your Career. The idea largely came from listening to podcasts. Thom Singer’s, Ryan Rhoten’s, and Roger Whitney’s podcasts were his motivation. He wanted to blend their features in one show.
[3:40] Marc found Podfly Productions through Thom Singer. Podfly sponsor’s Thom’s show and does his production work. Marc had the ability to produce and edit his own show, but all the production details were more than he wanted to handle.
[4:00] Marc contacted Corey Coates, the owner of Podfly, and bought one of their launch packages. Corey and the Podfly team walked Marc through selecting music, creating artwork, creating an intro with a professional voice artist, and everything else to get his show launched. Marc knew he had no artistic talents, so he needed help.
[4:30] Marc talks about the recording process. First, he had trouble with cable hum. So Corey suggested recording on his Mac with Piezo for Mac software. Marc decided next on a series approach where he would, over four weeks, interview an expert, interview a late-career pivoter, read a chapter from his book, and then do a Q&A session.
[5:03] Marc discovered he was much better as an interviewee than an interviewer. Marc was used to speaking on topics he enjoyed as a public speaker. When he has to interact with someone on an interview that is off script, it is not a smooth process. Marc is his harshest critic when he listens to a recording of himself, but he edits out mistakes.
[5:51] Marc has made a lot of refinements in this year. Marc can tell the difference between the early episodes to what he is producing today. The most important improvement in his technique is recording standing up in a closet with the microphone and pop filter attached to a shelf.
[6:47] Marc tells how the production week goes with Podfly, from Marc’s raw file to audio edit, show notes, proofing, tagging, and uploading to LibSyn. From LibSyn, they show up on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. On Monday afternoon, Marc’s VA creates the blog post, which contains the show notes, for Tuesday morning publication.
[7:28] Marc lists some expert guests: Kerry Hannon, who writes on Boomer issues, Chris Farrell, author of Unretirement, Retirement Answer Man podcaster Roger Whitney, Taylor Pearson, author of End of Jobs, and John Tarnoff, author of Boomer Reinvention.
[7:49] For the career pivoter episodes, Marc had a group of career changers in his network. At episode 20, Marc had to invite someone from his post clients to be interviewed. Marc’s first pivoter interview was with Dr. Joel Dobbs, who had volunteered to tell his great story in episode three.
[8:14] Marc started recording episodes from his book and knew he had episodes for about a year. The book launched in April of 2017 and the original reason for the podcast had kind of come to an end. Marc introduced solo episodes, like this one, and found out it was really hard. Marc starts with a script, but ad-libs as he goes along.
[8:55] Marc admires podcasters who do solo episodes and make it sound great. Roger Whitney does most of his Retirement Answer Man podcasts solo, and they are well-produced.
[9:15] The last episode in the series is the Q&A episode, which Marc first named the Mailbag episode. The idea was to answer three listener questions. If Marc did not receive enough questions, he reflected back on his past clients’ questions. Marc recorded these with Elizabeth Rabaey, Marc’s long-time client and intern.
[9:57] One thing Marc learned from recording is that shuffling pages is noisy. He reads from an iPad. Elizabeth rewrites in her own words a script Marc provides. Marc writes his points and then adlibs answers to the questions. Marc and Elizabeth can knock out an episode in just over 30 minutes. These have become the easiest episodes, by far.
[10:44] By watching download stats on LibSyn, Marc saw that downloads dropped when the name Mailbag was in the title, so Mar dropped the name. By the middle of the year, Marc was editing more of his own audio. He likes to make it sound good. A 20-minute podcast takes a couple of hours to edit. By forgetting breath sounds, his edits got faster.
[11:19] The book was launched about six months in, but there were a lot of other things going on. In October 2016 he noticed his health insurance premiums were about to explode, and they did. In November after the presidential election, Marc’s phones quieted for a few months. Business was off 60% for the first half of 2017.
[12:07] This downtime gave Marc time to finish his book, and he was interviewed on different podcasts almost weekly promoting the book. He was using a podcast booking service to get the interviews booked. The book launched, has sold well, and continues to sell. Marc’s email list continues to grow.
[12:33] Marc and his wife started exploring the possibility of becoming expats and living in another country. Next month, Marc will have an episode on their experience. In May they visited Ecuador, and returned early. Marc’s wife ended up in the hospital. The high altitude uncovered a condition that is now being resolved, at some expense.
[13:05] Marc recorded episode 29 from his wife’s hospital bedside in Austin after they returned. 2017 has been an interesting year. Business started picking up again in June, perhaps when people became unfrozen from the uncertainty. Marc is glad that the AHCA failed, as it could have raised his insurance premiums.
[13:43] At the same time, Marc began the CareerPivot Community website concept. Being so busy has made getting this podcast produced on time more difficult. Marc is now on a week-to-week basis. The second half of the year Marc turned over the blog post to his virtual assistant. The interview audio quality has improved, as has the flow.
[14:30] Marc heard Roger Whitney’s podcast series, “Can Carl Retire?” It helped Marc create a series, just concluded, called, “Can Tim Repurpose His Career?” This series finished off the first year of podcasting. Please listen to episodes 48-51 for this series. This has delayed Marc’s audio recording of Repurpose Your Career.
[15:22] It costs about $4,000 annually to produce this podcast. Starting in 2018, Marc will have a Patreon page for people to donate money on a recurring basis to support a cause. Patreon has become popular with podcasters. Podcasts are rarely profitable on their own. Marc would like to do a Repurpose Your Career series per year.
[16:14] In 2018, Marc will be shifting his business away from individual coaching to group coaching and the community website. Marc has the initial cohort of about 10 individuals that he is onboarding onto a trial platform. Once he has feedback, he will create a more final product and open the community up to small groups of 10 to 15.
[16:40] This will be a pod membership community, but Marc wants to keep the fees affordable to help more people. To learn more, you can sign up for the waiting list at CareerPivot.com/Community.
[17:01] Now that the podcast is a year old, Marc wants to survey the audience on what you like, and what you would like in the future. Please take the survey at CareerPivot.com/Podcast-Survey. Marc will be sending an email to the entire subscriber list about the time this episode goes up. This will help Marc shape what comes next.
[17:47] This podcast is a success because of you, the listener. Marc wants to thank everyone who’s been listening and supporting the cause. Onto a second year of the Repurpose Your Career podcast! Next week, Marc will interview author Thea Kelly.
Mentioned in This Episode:
CareerPivot.com/Podcast-Survey or CareerPivot.com/PodcastSurvey
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Thom Singer’s Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do podcast
Ryan Rhoten’s The BRAND New You Show
Roger Whitney’s Retirement Answer Man Show
The End of Jobs: Money, Meaning and Freedom Without the 9-to-5, by Taylor Pearson
Boomer Reinvention: How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50, by John Tarnoff
CareerPivot.com/Episode-20 with Elizabeth Rabaey
CareerPivot.com/Episode-48 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 1”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-49 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 2”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-50 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 3”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-51 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 4”
Get That Job: The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Interview, by Thea Kelley
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey The paperback and ebook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. Marc is recording the audio version of the book, and he plans to have it available in late November 2017.
Marc is taking on new clients. Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me or call at 512-693-9132, and leave a message with your email address. Marc will respond with a link to his calendar, to find a time to talk.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-52 Show Notes for this episode.
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
In this episode, Marc shares Part 4 of 4 parts of the CareerPivot evaluation process. This is the Stress Report session, where Marc helps Tim understand how to plan for stressful situations, and how to avoid them. Marc gives Tim more homework to help him collaborate with people to reduce stressors.
Key Takeaways:
[2:20] Tim is a 50-year-old who has been stair-stepping himself out of a career and building a side business. Recently he got laid off, which was his trigger to pivot. In this episode, Marc takes Tim through the Birkman Stress Report, with his top 40 needs and actions he can take to keep himself out of stress. He will learn some questions to ask.
[3:16] If you haven’t listened to Episodes 48, 49, and 50, Marc would suggest you stop here and listen to them, first. If you listen on the go, listen first without the reports and then download them from CareerPivot.com/Tim and listen to it again. There is a lot to digest, and Tim is very open about his experiences at work.
[4:16] Tim says the homework was much harder this week than last. He noticed that while the tasks had changed, he used the same problem-solving process for all of them. He gathers information first, discusses the problem with people, puts his thoughts in an organized order, takes some time to put together a plan, and charges forward.
[5:38] The exercise gave him the opportunity to look back at his business work behaviors and see where he added the most value.
[6:21] Marc notes that the more Tim understands how he solves problems, the more he’ll understand how other people solve them differently. Tim discusses how his wife solves problems differently than he does.
[7:32] Marc covers the Stress Pages. There are four sections. For each area, there are interpersonal relationships, schedules and details, conflict and decision making. There is one page about being in stress. Marc skips ahead to the page about staying out of stress. Page 3 is Managing Needs for Esteem and Acceptance.
[8:16] The page shows things Tim needs, and activities he can do to stay out of stress. Tim relates to personalized benefits, genuine pats on the back, criticism balanced by praise, and time alone. He also notices his need for a few close friends. In the four areas, there will be a total of 40 needs. Tim should mix them down to 10 or 12.
[9:44] Tim should come up with a core set of needs, and develop an open-ended question for each. Next, come the things Tim can do to avoid stress. Tim reads through them and considers his compliance to each. One thing he does now to keep busy is home repair and door replacement. He also sets time aside for some quiet time.
[15:00] Tim comments on the suggested activity of spending one weekend a month alone with his significant other. He and his wife have not tried that yet. He is too active to just relax with her. They are always on projects. The last activity is to spend quiet time alone before big holidays. Tim will try that. Marc avoids certain holiday parties, himself.
[17:29] Page 5 is Managing Needs for Structure and Change. Tim has a low need for rules and a moderate need for variety. He is a borderline structured anarchist. Tim needs freedom from close controls and needs a minimally structured routine. He also needs novelty during the day, or he feels drained.
[18:45] Tim has an independent work role now, and that pleases him, and he likes varied and complex work activities. Tim needs direct access to everyone. Tim likes Twitter because there is no gatekeeper, but Tim will have a hard time narrowing down the list.
[19:58] Tim’s suggested activities are, set aside time weekly for new activities and interests, take vacations or spend time on hobbies, create opportunities to discuss goals and plans with his family, make schedules that allow for flexibility, build up a stockpile of small projects to work on, and time management that allows several tasks each day.
[24:22] Tim needs to avoid home projects that will take months of the same activity to complete. Basement remodeling would be a bad idea.
[25:34] Page 7 is Managing Needs for Authority and Freedom. Tim has a very low need for authority, and a moderate need for freedom. Tim needs low-key discussions, comprehensive policies to follow, suggestions rather than orders, encouragement to speak up, agreeable, pleasant relationships, and assignments that allow independence.
[25:54] Tim needs opportunities to set his own direction, freedom from control by others, opportunities to be unconventional, and superiors who delegate broadly. Tim likes bosses who ask him to do things, and then leave him alone to do them.
[27:03] Tim needs to identify a few close associates who are low-key people and good listeners and spend more casual time with them. He is in a small mastermind group that offers this type of conversation. Tim needs to develop signals with people close to him, to use when he wants to call a truce to a heated exchange.
[29:19] Tim recalls an unpleasant conversation with his former boss, who pointedly did not want to hear his side of the story. Tim retreats from confrontation finding no value in it. Tim has brought this up to Marc multiple times.
[30:08] Tim needs to spend more time in activities where rules have been made that are observed fairly. He needs to single out tasks he can execute without controversy or opposition, to do without stress. He needs to avoid being put on the spot with new suggestions, but have time to think without responding.
[32:28] Tim needs friendships with people who understand his need for independence and are patient with his nonconformity. He needs to develop a clear definition of his concerns and values to share with those around him. Tim should look for commitments others have to finding good solutions to common problems.
[35:01] Page 9 is Activity and Thought. This is making big decisions. Tim is very high in thought and moderately low in activity. Tims needs are, stimulation of new ideas, friendly, low-key surroundings, time for reflection, unhurried work conditions, and time to think, support from others on decisions, and offer assistance and help.
[35:36] Tim needs others to be cautious in decision-making. This is common among high-thought people. They also want others to be careful thinkers.
[37:01] To stay out of stress Tim can plan schedules and projects in light of past and future, give more time to abstract thought. Thinking helps Tim de-stress. He needs to avoid taking on too many projects or social obligations. Tim sees this as a valid need.
[39:04] Tim needs a relaxing low-key hobby or recreation for its curative powers. Tim has one in mind to start again. Tim needs to build life goals and important plans with advice from knowledgeable advisors, and develop close relationships with advisors.
[40:15] Tim should keep abreast of major developments in his work area, to keep ahead of changes affecting his work. He should have a good idea of where to go for assistance and information.
[41:04] Tim should remind those close to him he needs careful preparation before making a decision. He should elicit their support in developing options to consider.
[41:15] Tim’s homework is to synthesize his needs in the report down from 40 to 10 or so, and then write an open-ended question on each. Marc will send Tim a link to a blog post on the art of writing questions, and the responses he wants to hear. The goal is to get the other person to open up. Marc gives some example questions he uses.
[43:37] The questions Tim will write should be questions he will use with his actual prospects to determine if they are people he wants to as clients. Tim knows he has a couple of questions right now that take too long to answer him.
[44:20] Open-ended questions help move people along to figure out the things you need to find out.
[44:56] This wraps up the last feedback session. For clients that are not going to move into branding with Marc, he will do a fourth and final feedback session, which he will do with Tim, but not in a podcast.
[45:14] Marc gives Tim a branding project for homework: talk to three people from work, and three people from personal life, and ask, can you give me three to five phrases that describe me? The idea is to see the difference between the perceptions of the two groups of people. Tim needs to notice the words they use about him, not his own words.
[45:46] Tim is also to take the phrases that he translated in last weeks homework, and turn them into a narrative about himself that is written in the way he speaks, and not in the way he writes.
[46:51] Tim feels very much more self-aware after these feedback sessions.
[47:03] Marc hopes you enjoyed this series. He would like to hear from you about it. His thought is to do this twice a year with different types of individuals. If you are interested in having Marc do a Birkman assessment with you as a series of podcasts like this, please contact Marc at CareerPivot.com/contact-me or any contact method on the site.
[48:32] Check out next week’s first birthday episode of the Repurpose Your Career podcast!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. When you get done reading the book, please leave an honest review on Amazon. The audio version will be available in November.
Watch for news of the membership community of the CareerPivot.com website. Marc has an initial cohort of members helping him develop the content. Soon Marc will start a wait list for those who want to participate.
Take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Please give this podcast a review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Careerpivot.com
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me. Marc answers your questions every month.
Start with NO...The Negotiating Tools that the Pros Don't Want You to Know,
by Jim Camp
Twitter: @CareerPivot
LinkedIn: Marc Miller
Facebook: Career Pivot
In this episode, Marc shares Part 3 of 4 parts of the CareerPivot evaluation process. This is the Preferred Workstyles session, where Marc helps Tim understand his natural management style, corporate adaptability, work motivation, social adaptability, and responsibility. Tim learns his decision-making style and reviews his Lifestyle Grid.
Key Takeaways:
[2:02] Tim is a 50-year-old who has been stair-stepping himself out of a career and building a side business. Recently he got laid off, which was his trigger to complete his pivot. This episode covers Tim’s preferred workstyles: his natural management style, corporate adaptability, work motivation, and social adaptability and responsibility.
[2:43] Marc and Tim will discuss his decision-making style and his Lifestyle Grid.
[2:50] If you haven’t listened to Episode 48 and Episode 49, Marc would suggest you stop here and listen to them, first. If you listen on the go, listen first without the reports and then download them from CareerPivot.com/Tim and listen to it again. There is a lot to digest, and Tim is very open about his experiences at work.
[3:26] Tim explains why he stayed at his last job so long. They gave him a new position with a new project every two or three years, which suited his need to create, and then move on. Marc calls him a multipotentialite, for having many interests. This is a poor fit for a specialist role that a corporation would want for a professional position.
[5:48] Tim puts his next steps on sticky notes, keeping them on a high level for organization. When he gets ready to go into the details, he expands the notes. Tim has a broad spectrum of interests. He likes solving problems but is not process-driven. He only likes rules he develops, that he can break.
[6:53] Tim and Marc examine Tim’s preferred work style, as Marc explains the bars. The first bars are Tim’s Natural Management Style: Knowledge Specialist, Directive Management, or Delegated Management. Next are fitting into the Corporate Environment: Work Motivation, Self-Development, and Corporate Adaptability.
[7:43] The next two bars are Social Adaptability and Social Responsibility. These relate to fitting into society, and trust. On the right side of the page, the bars are in pairs that add to 11. These are Tim’s decision-making style. He is a linear, concrete thinker. Marc gives Tim an assignment to examine how he solved problems at work and at home.
[9:33] Marc expects Tim to be able to understand how he solves problems and to articulate the process to his manager. Marc’s method of assessment is to discuss the results with the client and then see how they apply in the client’s real life.
[10:02] Tim is 2 out of 10 a Knowledge Specialist and 9 out of 10 a Directive Manager, Tim is not a specialist, He leads from the front, directing the work. He takes charge.
[13:35] Tim should brand himself as an action problem-solving person, and choose clients who will let him be the guide. Tim shares an anecdote of a client relationship that works well for him.They let him lead their teams. Intuitively, he picked the right client.
[15:03] Marc asks Tim to survey that client, once they have a good relationship, and ask why they chose him. This will help him know whom he attracts. Tim tells another client story, where the client doesn’t quite get it yet. Tim’s broad and varied experiences help him connect to clients in various fields. He knows what they do.
[16:59] Tim is a 2 out of 10 in Delegative Management. Tim reads the description of his style. He would not want to be a VP because he would rather do the work than a Powerpoint report on work that someone else got to do.
[19:29] Tim does not like long meetings.
[19:42] Tim and Marc explore Corporate Styles, Work Motivation. Mark is a 6 out of 10. People with scores of 7 or above like work for work’s sake. People with lower scores tend to need a buy-in to get interested in the work. They need to see the value in their work. Marc explains that a 6 score needs some explanation, but not every detail.
[22:00] Tim is a 9 out of 10 on Corporate Adaptability. A score of 7 or above means they understand and are prepared to participate in corporate politics. They identify with the organization as an entity. Someone with a low score identifies with a manager or their coworkers, but not the company. The issue for high scorers is that it is very important to find an organization that has a corporate mission that resonates with you.
[26:39] Tim is aware of his own skills in playing office politics.
[27:16] Tim measures 10 out of 10 in self-development. That indicates he likes classroom learning, but he does not like to sit in a classroom. Onboarding needs to be a process he can follow with a roadmap.
[28:49] Tim is a 7 in Social Adaptability. That means he is a trusting person. He used to get dinged for that by bosses. Marc asks clients, whether they score low or high in this, to put in place a system where people can earn trust by keeping their agreements.
[31:07] Marc shares an anecdote of a project leader who ran things by intimidation.
[32:51] Tim’s Social Responsibility score is 8 out of 10. A score above 7 will go along with the corporate rules and procedures. In Tim’s case, he did so, but didn’t particularly like them. Personal Social Responsibility for Tim is not always following social rules, but seeing both sides of every story. In his own business, Tim will set the rules.
[36:34] Marc and Tim examine how Tim makes decisions. Public Contact is 9, Detail is 2. Tim’s score shows he wants to be around people, but not necessarily interacting with them. He could work at a coffee shop with wifi.
[40:07] Tim is 4 Global and 7 Linear. Global is relational and holistic. Linear follows a logical sequential process. Tim is more sequential than global. He shares an anecdote about interrupting the conversation with a whiteboard diagram, that gives a starting point.
[41:37] Tim is a 4 Conceptual and a 7 Concrete. Marc explains what this means for Tim. Marc happens to be a 10 Concrete. He just wants the data, not the backstory or fluff.
[44:53] On the Combinations of Problem-Solving page, Tim is a Concrete/Linear Thinker. This shows he is practical and action-oriented. They want people to give them the facts and get out of the way. Marc gives Tim an assignment around problem-solving.
[47:25] Tim’s Lifestyle Grid shows that his Red and Blue interests are very unusual. These are things that when he does, he gets energy. They are things he likes to do, They are solving practical problems, being directly involved, doing things/working with people, organizing tasks while focusing on the people who do them, getting things done.
[48:13] Marc notes that this matches clearly with Tim’s side business. These are things Tim needs in his day to be happy. He did not get them all at his last job.
[49:08] The Blue diamond shows Tim is Thoughtful, Reflective, Insightful, and Optimistic. Also, Competitive, Enthusiastic, and Assertive. The things Tim does are very operational. The way he behaves is more on the creative side. Tim is more motivated by the job than by the title or the management aspect of a role.
[51:45] The whole point of an assessment is to take the big data from Tim’s years of work experience and find out with it means about him, and the job that is right for him.
[52:06] We often go back to what is familiar because it is familiar. It doesn’t mean it’s good for us. Marc tells why that doesn’t work out well.
[53:31] The Blue circle shows how Tim wants to be treated. He is most comfortable when people around him show they appreciate him, are interested in feelings, as well as logic, give him time for complex decisions, give him time alone or with one or two others, and don’t overschedule him. He wants to be on a team of people that like him.
[54:37] Tim’s Stress Report will help him know what kind of client he wants to deal with. Tim’s Stress Behaviors are Withdrawing, Fatigued, Indecisive, Pessimistic, Overly sensitive to criticism. Marc gives Tim an assignment to place the list where he will see it frequently, and be able to head off these behaviors. Tim engages in negative self-talk.
[56:40] Marc recommends Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential AND HOW YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOURS, by Shirzad Chamine. It talks about the sage side of the brain, and the saboteur side. It has exercises to manage self-talk.
[58:36] Tim has a lot of self-talk, so he needs to stay around positive people. Marc gives Tim assignments that will lead to a narrative of who he is. The last assignment is to download Marc’s Career Reflection worksheet from the show notes.
[59:57] Marc gives Tim questions to answer for next week, about good experiences and why they were good. The next session will be on Tim’s Stress Report, and things he can do to stay out of stress, or to get out of stress if he is in it.
[1:02:08] Marc invites listeners to download the assessment for Tim from the CareerPivot website.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. When you get done reading the book, please leave an honest review on Amazon. The audio version will be available in late October.
Watch for news of the membership community of the CareerPivot.com website. Marc has an initial cohort of members helping him develop the content. Soon Marc will start a wait list for those who want to participate.
Take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Please give this podcast a review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Careerpivot.com
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me. Marc answers your questions every month.
Twitter: @CareerPivot
LinkedIn: Marc Miller
Facebook: Career Pivot
In this episode, Marc shares Part 2 of 4 parts of the CareerPivot evaluation process. This is the second half of the feedback session, where Marc helps Tim understand his organizational and time management behaviors. Tim shares office stories about his strengths and stresses.
Key Takeaways:
[1:34] Tim is a 50-year-old guy who has been stair-stepping himself out of a career and building a business on the side. Last month he got laid off, which was his trigger to complete his pivot. This episode will cover Tim’s Birkman through his organizational and time management behaviors and the Birkman measures of freedom and challenge. [2:19] If you missed Episode 48, please stop here and listen to it first. If you listen on the go, listen first without the reports and then download them from CareerPivot.com/Tim and listen to it again.
[2:53] Page 10 has the need for structure, organizing, and being responsible. Flexibility vs. Structure. Tim’s most effective behavior puts a high value on structure and order. He is systematic, procedural, and concerned with detail. His strengths are maximized when the plan is of his own making and when he has the flexibility to bend his own rules.
[5:25] Tim can walk into a situation, create order, and set up procedures. But then he has to go. He cannot live under his own procedures for a long period. He gets bored.
[6:33] Tim’s causes of stress are external interference in his plan can frustrate or distract him. He may overreact to pressures that threaten his personal freedom. Tim agrees with what he hears so far. He dreads a manager coming by and suggesting changes without knowing what has gone into the procedure.
[7:30] Tim’s possible stress reactions would be overgeneralizing, neglect of order and system, and weakened follow through. This has appeared on his past performance reviews.
[8:07] Page 11 covers Need for Authority. Being in Charge, and Suggest vs. Tell. Tim wants to win the argument. He prefers to be free of close authority. Tim is most effective when there is a minimum of controls placed on him. Strengths: Deferent and agreeable, pleasant and low-key. Tim is a nice guy who doesn’t want a boss.
[9:06] Tim would much rather be asked than told. Tim wants to be in-the-know and to know why. Tim recognizes the importance of control in the environment. This applies a need for some balance. He is most at ease in environments that maintain direction and control in a fair and equitable way.
[10:28] Tim would rather have a collegial boss than an authoritarian boss. Because of his need for balance, he may be annoyed by people who are too assertive, or he may become unusually aggressive in situations that seem to lack direction.
[11:41] Tim possible stress reactions are becoming argumentative, and difficulty speaking up. He has done both but especially is reluctant to speak up.
[12:13] Page 12 is Dealing with Change and Focused vs. Variety. Tim’s most effective behavior is his sense of novelty, adventure and readiness to start new things. His resilience to change is above average. He is easy to stimulate, responsive, attentive, and adaptive. Tim likes variety. This is a problem in the corporate environment.
[14:46] Tim responds best to situations and surroundings that offer frequent changes of activity. He gets positive reinforcement from an environment that allows him to move. He has a standing desk with wheels that he moves. He is totally bored sitting at a desk. Excessive emphasis on routine can put Tim under pressure, feel restless and annoyed.
[16:56] Tim gets annoyed with delays, problems with self-discipline, and an inability to concentrate.
[17:22] Page 13 covers the need for kinesthetic movement in his day, and the energy he uses in making decisions. He enjoys being regularly active and can summon reserves of energy when his schedule demands it. He is energetic, enthusiastic and uses vigorous reasoning. He may take on many projects, and overlook the need to rest.
[18:21] Tim has trouble shutting down in the evenings. He is always thinking. Marc recommends to him the book Positive Intelligence, and focus on one small thing at a time for 15 seconds 100 times a day. Tim’s causes of stress are hurried conditions with too little time to think things through. This leaves him feeling rushed and less effective.
[20:15] Tim discusses the preparation he puts into a podcast interview. He may be flexible during the interview, but it has to follow the flow he planned, or he is unhappy. Marc notes that Tim does more show prep than anyone he knows. It makes him feel ready when he understands how he will relate the conversation to his audience.
[21:54] Tim wants his podcast guests to know he respects their time, and that he took the time to prepare for the podcast. He is pleased when they compliment his work. Tim’s Stress Reactions are postponing direct action, magnifying boredom of projects, and favoring thought over action. Tim needs to take breaks.
[22:39] Page 14 is Making Decisions. Tim has a primary emphasis on a thoughtful and reflective approach to decision making, considering distant as well as immediate consequences of his decisions. He makes routine decisions quickly. His need is a preference for the time to make thoughtful decisions, exhausting all possibilities.
[24:46] Tim worked for his last company for 13 years, holding four or five positions. Every three years they moved him to another position. That was his need for variety being met. When Tim buys a car, it takes a long time, starting with considering if a scooter will work. He sometimes gets analysis paralysis.
[26:27] Tim’s Causes of Stress: pressure mounts when he is hurried in actions and rushed in making judgments. He dreads the unforeseen, and can needlessly postpone or evade a decision. This is why a layoff for people like Tim is good. He has to make a decision.
[28:00] Reactions to Stresses are becoming indecisive, fear of the unknown, and unnecessary caution. Decision making can be worrisome for Tim. At this time he worries about his lost salary. Planning helps him feel more comfortable.
[29:42] Page 15 is the Need for Freedom. Tim’s Most Effective Behaviors are consistent and cooperative. He has insight into how people think and feel. He likes convention. His Strengths are restrained, consistent, and cooperative. His Need includes a preference sometimes for a personal touch.
[30:29] He projects individuality against a background of predictability. He puts color in his spreadsheets and designs his own Powerpoints. He is somewhat creative and wants to do things his way.
[31:23] Tim’s Cause of Stress is a lack of predictability in the environment. Tensions can mount if he is denied some freedom of thought and action. Tim wants predictability his way. He will need to think about this working for himself.
[32:54] Tim’s Possible Stress Reactions are anxiety and emphasis on undue restraint.
[33:01] Page 16 is Expectation of Myself and Others. Tim’s Most Effective Behaviors are natural confidence and positive self-image, focusing on his Strengths of Personal Charm, being Pleasant, and his Confidence. These have made him successful with his podcast. People readily accept to come on the Podcast.
[34:27] Tim’s need is to be in situations and surroundings that do not place unrealistic demands on his abilities. His relationships should be emotionally supportive. Causes of Stress are that his strong self-image makes it difficult to accept blame. Criticism must be balanced with praise.
[35:51] Stress Reactions: unrealistic expectations, sidestepping uncomfortable situations, and avoiding critical self-evaluation.
[36:25] Marc has a homework assignment he will email to Tim about reevaluating times when he got mad, and what he could do differently. Tim will also need to pick out 8-15 Strength Phrases that he strongly accepts. More assignments will be based on these. Tim will be able to authentically tell who he is, not what he has done.
[37:48] Next week Marc will cover with Tim his preferred work styles and his lifestyle grid.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. When you get done reading the book, please leave an honest review on Amazon. The audio version will be available in October.
Watch for news of the membership community of the CareerPivot.com website. Marc has an initial cohort of members helping him develop the content. Soon Marc will start a wait list for those who want to participate.
Take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Please give this podcast a review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Careerpivot.com
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me. Marc answers your questions every month.
Twitter: @CareerPivot
LinkedIn: Marc Miller
Facebook: Career Pivot
Description: In this episode, Marc shares Part 1 of 4 parts of the CareerPivot evaluation process. This is the first half of the feedback session, where Marc helps Tim understand his interpersonal and social strengths and needs. Tim shares office stories that illustrate his strengths and stresses.
Key Takeaways:
[1:36] Tim is a 50-year-old guy who has been stair-stepping himself out of a career and building a business on the side. Last month he got laid off, which is his trigger to take action. This episode will cover Tim’s Birkman interests and interpersonal behaviors. Listen to the episode first, and then download the reports and listen to it again.
[2:37] Tim gives his first thoughts after reading the report. He agrees with the vast majority of it but found a few things that surprised him. Marc does not use the job titles and families category because the jobs of five years ago are changed or gone, and the jobs of five years in the future do not exist yet. Jobs are changing quickly.
[5:46] Tim pulls up his profile to follow along with Marc. Marc first covers Areas of Interest, which are not necessarily skills. The scores are 1 to 99. Today’s discussion is on these components: Effective Behavior, Needs, Normative Pattern, Acceptance, and Organizational Focus. Tim’s Organization Focus is “Get ‘er done,” and Tim agrees.
[9:15] Marc explains Tim’s circumstances prior to the call. They will discuss whether the side gig Tim is working is right for him. The Key will be to pick the right clients, and the clients he will not want to work with.
[10:45] Interests with Basic Colors measures interests. Tim scores high on Mechanical, which means he is a puzzle solver. Tim has a podcast, and he is very fastidious about editing it. Solving problems gives him energy. His hobby is carpentry. Marc says when he is stressed or tired, Tim should do what he likes to do. He should add it to his business.
[13:13] Understand what you like to do and are good at; everything else — outsource. Tim comes up 72 in Persuasive, which means he likes convincing people. Marc applies this to Tim’s teaching and becoming a subject matter expert. He is in the middle in Scientific, so he likes research. He also likes music.
[15:11] Tim is low on Social Service and Office Professional. Tim doesn’t like other people’s rules, but he is OK with rules that he makes up.Tim reflects on his previous job and the things he disliked there. Marc says Tim is a borderline Structured Anarchist.
[16:55] Tim is not very numerical. He can do his bookkeeping, but it is not a favored activity. One of the key differences between talents and skills is that we can develop skills in things not tied to innate talents, but even if we excel at them, overuse leads to burnout.
[18:25] Tim examines his behavior matrix, that Marc creates. There are four behaviors: Interpersonal, Organizational (structure, authority, and change), Time Management, and Planning (big decision-making); and two attitude boxes: Freedom (wanting to stand out) and Challenge (ego). Tim is low on Challenge, which says he worries.
[19:45] Tim needs to surround himself with positive people and find ways to feed his ego with enjoyable activities.
[20:52] Respect for Issues and People. Tim deals with others with openness and frankness, and insight into their feelings. He is direct, without being blunt. Tim should not find a position where he needs to be directive. Others showing him respect and appreciation are important, and Tim is at his best when others are aware of his feelings.
[25:21] Tim will need to be careful working with clients. If he has an abusive client, it is important to fire that client. Becoming a subject matter expert will get him respect.
[26:02] Tim’s Cause of Stress is the disconnect between his Interpersonal Needs and his Usual Style. This may make it hard for others to know his feelings, while he may suspect them of insensitivity.
[27:02] Tim’s Reactions to Stress are shyness, oversensitivity, and embarrassment. Tim recognizes these reactions in himself. Tim needs to learn to identify his reactions as they occur, so he can do something about them.
[27:43] Tim’s Most Effective Behavior makes him sociable, at ease in groups, and communicative. Tim’s Need is to spend considerable time with himself or with one or two trusted individuals. He is a closet introvert. The key piece is that he is seen as social, but he needs his time alone. When he is with people, he needs their support.
[32:23] Tim does not like all-day meetings, especially when they are for the sake of having a meeting. Pressure to be involved in social or group settings can upset his sense of well-being and cause withdrawal to a surprising degree. Marc suggests Tim should break for lunch and doing an enjoyable activity. These are restorative niches.
[34:40] Tim recalls circumstances from his former job that allowed him to work partly at home, and only come to work at the office for spreadsheets. When his needs are not met, he withdraws, ignores the group, and becomes impatient. This happens in long meetings.
[36:40] Tim is moderately competitive, determined and forceful. He believes others are more competitive. He gets frustrated when he is not recognized for accomplishment. Tim shares a success story from his last job, where he saved the company millions of dollars, but instead of praise, he got laid off.
[39:01] Tim wants his strokes. In another episode Marc will discuss what that means. There is also financial reward, and verbal recognition. When did Tim feel the most valued at work, and what did they do?
[40:22] Tim’s Causes of Stress: not being informed, impracticality, or extreme idealism shown by others. Tim shares stresses he experienced from one boss. Tim’s Stress Reactions:Over-emphasizing quick success, becoming opportunistic, self-promotion. There were times Tim used these tactics.
[43:40] Need for Empathy, Dealing with Emotions, and Logic vs. Feelings: Tim can display emotion openly, but is usually low-key and matter-of-fact. He is practical, logical, and objective. Tim’s need is for people to treat him with logic and objectivity, with a reasonable amount of sympathy for his feelings. He wants people to care about him.
[46:15] People who are higher on the empathy scale tend to work better in an office with women. Tim may prefer to have some female clients. Tim’s balance of practicality and sensitivity from others means that people who are too detached may cause him to magnify his own problems, while excessive emotionalism may cause him anxiety.
[48:43] Tim’s stress reaction is to detach or get discouraged.
[49:29] Next episode will be the second half of the feedback session, covering organizational behaviors, time management, and attitudes.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. When you get done reading the book, please leave an honest review on Amazon. The audio version will be available in October.
Watch for news of the membership community of the CareerPivot.com website. Marc has an initial cohort of members helping him develop the content.
Take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Please give this podcast a review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Careerpivot.com
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me. Marc answers your questions every month.
Twitter: @CareerPivot
LinkedIn: Marc Miller
Facebook: Career Pivot