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Interview: Visioning Your Future

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Today I ask our experts:
Why is it so important to take the time to envision the next 3-5 years
as a person or a business?

What recommendations do you have for people who want to do this exercise?

My guests today are Sabrina Woods, Holistic Career Coach, LinkedIn Trainer & Consultant and Megan Piper,  Principal of Piper Consulting helping leaders clarify their vision and create traction through building a healthy company. Both Sabrina and Megan help people and businesses envision their future. 

I attended Sabrina Woods’ annual retreat “Going Beyond New Year’s Resolutions: A Retreat to Reflect on What Matters this past January and I also had the pleasure of attending Megan’s workshop she did for the Maine Association of Training & Development this spring. Both were enlightening and helped me look forward in my personal and work like.

*See my blog on my why I take monthly tech-free retreats

Visioning Your Future

BIO’s

Sabrina Woods is a Holistic Career Coach, LinkedIn Trainer & Consultant. She has 20 years of experience in the career services field including work at Harvard and Northeastern University. She is also the president of the Career Counselors Consortium professional association based out of Boston.  For more info: www.sabrina-woods.com or www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinawoods.

Megan Piper is an Entrepreneurial Operating System Implementer helping leaders clarify their vision and create traction through building a healthy company. She instills purpose, accountability, and discipline, and provides tools to measure progress against meaningful metrics. Megan is uniquely qualified to advise organizations with years of executive experience across diverse environments, from IT to e-commerce, healthcare to non-profits. 
https://piperconsultingco.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganpiper/

Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a weekly email for career practitioners. Peak-Careers offers discussion-based online seminars for career practitioners focused on meeting continuing education needs for CCSP, GCDF and BCC certified professionals as well as workshops for career practitioners and individual career coaching.

He is the author of A Field Guide for Career Practitioners: Helping Your Clients Create Their Next Move and The Adventure of Finding Me in New Zealand. He is also the recipient of the 2020 Kenneth C. Hoyt Award from the National Career Development Association and the Mid-Atlantic Career Counseling Association’s Professional Contribution’s Award in 2020.

Sign up here to receive my  TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON.  You will also receive the career practitioner’s weekly email on a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more. 

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Note: Featured image Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Micro-Networking to Strengthen Relationships

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Recently I read the book, Switchers by Dawn Graham. (Read my book review here ). There was lots to like but I can’t get her reference to ‘micro-networking’ out of my head…so I’m going to share it here with you 🙂  I will do this sometimes when I have a song in my head and I grab my guitar and just sing it out.

Dr. Graham writes about the importance of networking for people who are switching industries or occupations. Which is true, but all career coaches know the high value of a network for all of our clients, not just switchers. She refers to micro-networking as all the little things you can do to strengthen relationships.

I, too, have referred to networking as ‘relationship building’  which is a better description of what it really is. All relationships take time and energy to build and your professional network is not different. Some people in your network you will reach out to numerous times throughout the year, like my good friend Bob McIntosh who I have only met once face-to-face for coffee, but many times via zoom. Other relationships only need a contact every once in a great while to keep them in touch with you. Yet each time you reach out, you strengthen those relationships.

Why should you invest your time in micro-networking?

  1. So they don’t forget you
  2. Someone in your network may need you. They may want to ask you for help but are reluctant to reach out. By reaching out to them, they know you are out there to support them.

Each time you reach out, you strengthen the relationship. I could probably come up with more reasons, but realistically, there are two. They may need you to help them and you may need them to help you someday. We all need people in our lives for support – look at this as no different than your personal friends and family.

micro-networking tree image
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

What is micro-networking? 

Here is my list of what could be considered micro-networking. I’d love to hear what you could add to this list.

  • “Liking” “commenting” or “sharing” on social media 
  • Better yet, Dr. Graham suggests repost articles and offer a summary to your network
  • Bring cookies to a meeting…just because (another example in Switchers book) 
  • Keep track of birthdays and send a note, text, message on LinkedIn. It does not have to be public like on Facebook, just a private message is special. (I texted Sabrina Woods recently…because “someone” had a birthday)
  • Ask to meet-up and have a chat, face-to-face or via Zoom. My friend and colleague Scott Woodard is moving out of Maine soon and we scheduled a coffee together recently to catch up before he leaves.
  • Suggest a good book or article for someone. This is one reason that I write short book reviews after I read a book. So that I can simply send a link to someone when I learn they might benefit from that book. (See my book reviews).
  • Send thank you notes to people…just because. Our individual success is never attained alone. There is always someone you can thank.
  • Call them. Wow! Using your phone to make a call! Who woulda thought? Yes, I was reading the Maine Biz magazine recently and there was an article about a guy I worked with 20 years ago and what he is doing today at Southern Maine Community College. So I took a few minutes to find his phone number at SMCC and left him a message.

Ok, it’s your turn.
What else can you do to micro-network
and build your relationships?

Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a weekly email for career practitioners. Peak-Careers offers discussion-based online seminars for career practitioners focused on meeting continuing education needs for CCSP, GCDF and BCC certified professionals as well as workshops for career practitioners and individual career coaching.

He is the author of A Field Guide for Career Practitioners: Helping Your Clients Create Their Next Move and The Adventure of Finding Me in New Zealand. He is also the recipient of the 2020 Kenneth C. Hoyt Award from the National Career Development Association and the Mid-Atlantic Career Counseling Association’s Professional Contribution’s Award in 2020.

Sign up here to receive my  TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON.  You will also receive the career practitioner’s weekly email on a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more. 

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Mountain Madness: Scott Fischer, Mount Everest & a Life Lived on High. By Robert Birkby

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I met Bob Birkby back in my days in Seattle, 1980-81. Friends of some friends… I was even somewhere around 300 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in the summer of 1981 with these “friends of Bob” when Bob and Carol (she’s in the book) hiked up to our camp. It was wild to see someone we knew on the trail after 3+ weeks of hiking.

Turns out, Bob had a friend of friend, who was Scott Fischer. There have been a number of books about Scott, like Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and others, which often were the “persona” of Scott Fischer the mountaineer. Bob wanted to write a book about Scott Fischer the person.

Clearly Scott Fischer was one of those people who would take over a room when they arrived, with a huge personality and lots of stories. He was also an optimist and a person who truly loves the mountains. Not like me where I like backpacking in the mountains…he wanted to be on the TOP of the mountains.

I loved this book as it captured the intensity and beauty of being in the mountains and on top of them. The drive and commitment to climb mountains like Everest is something I have no interest in, but love to read how others are motivated to do it. Because Bob has done some climbing (not like Scott), he gives the reader the insight as to how ti feels to be up there.

By interviewing many of Scotts friends and climbing partners, you get a real inside feel to who he is and what motivates him. Lots of people die in the mountains above 20,000 feet. Shit happens there that does not forgive. Scott is one of them.

If you like the mountains and if you’d like to know how mountaineers think, read this book. It was a great read that I could not put down.

Interview: Following up on My 3 Words for 2021

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Instead of writing New Year’s Resolutions or goals, since 2016, I choose three words to guide me each year. In January of this year, I interviewed four people about how they choose their 3 words and what those words mean to them. I wanted to follow up with them on how their 3-word activity is going six months later.

If you have not watched the January interview, you may want to begin with that one to understand “How they choose them” and “what the words mean to them.” (Watch January Interview).

In this June interview, I asked them how it was going and if there were any surprises. It was so great to circle back with these folks and hear how powerful this activity really is.

3 Words to Guide
WATCH NOW

Note: You can read my blog explaining my guiding words and how I choose them this year. (READ NOW)

BIOs of the interviewees

Candina “Dina” Janicki is a Global Career Development Facilitator , Certified Career Services Provider, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer with a specialty in the Military Community. Dina works as a Project Operations Manager and Career Development Manager, aiding transitioning service members through the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA). She has been a military spouse for 20+ years and volunteers her time to aid other military spouses and veterans through mentorship and career development assistance. She has also authored the article, “Opportunity Found: Chaos Theory for Military Spouse Employment” which talks about the Advantages of Chaos Theory of Careers for Aiding Military Spouses. (Opportunity Found: Chaos Theory for Military Spouse Employment (ncda.org)) . Connect with Dina on LinkedIn

Renée Beaupré White is passionate about helping individuals explore their interests and develop their skills. With more than 30 years’ experience in career counseling in higher education, Renee is highly skilled at assisting students and adults in career exploration, development, transition, and the job search process.  As the current Director of Career Services at Castleton University, her alma mater, Renee is also a part-time career coach at Proctor Jr. Sr. High School.

Rob Hatch is the co-founder and president of Owner Media Group, providing strategies and skills for the modern business. He brings a unique blend of knowledge and background in the field of Human Development with his experience as a successful business leader and executive coach, and his weekly newsletter is read by tens of thousands of individuals all over the world. As a speaker, trainer, and coach, Rob works primarily with business leaders and teams, guiding them through critical transitions in their organization. He’s the best-selling author of “Attention! The power of simple decisions in a distracted world.”

Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a weekly email for career practitioners. Peak-Careers offers discussion-based online seminars for career practitioners focused on meeting continuing education needs for CCSP, GCDF and BCC certified professionals as well as workshops for career practitioners and individual career coaching.

He is the author of A Field Guide for Career Practitioners: Helping Your Clients Create Their Next Move and The Adventure of Finding Me in New Zealand. He is also the recipient of the 2020 Kenneth C. Hoyt Award from the National Career Development Association and the Mid-Atlantic Career Counseling Association’s Professional Contribution’s Award in 2020.

Sign up here to receive my  TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON.  You will also receive the career practitioner’s weekly email on a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more. 

Switchers by Dawn Graham

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As a career coach, I loved this book. It reinforced the work I do with my clients – helping them create a value – added statement highlighting their skills. The author also does a great job talking about the importance of networking to break into new industries. Networking is important for all career changers but critical to switchers…people changing industries.

Switchers book

Scattered throughout her very practical advice were great quotes like, “job search is not fair” and then she reinforced the fact that you need a mindset change, not wasting energy complaining it isn’t fair. It isn’t sometimes, get over it, change your thinking.

“Failure is NOT the opposite of success, but rather a necessary stepping stone to attain success” Switchers (people who are switching industry or types of jobs) need to accept failing occasionally and look at them learning opportunities. *Note: which fits in well with the Happenstance Theory I embrace.

And two favorites, “You can’t steal 2nd base and keep one foot on first”  and “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape” which was her point about having one plan (no plan B) and putting yourself out there focusing on the best option you want.

She is a realist too, and if that plan does not work out after you have really tried, been persistent, and taken her advice, then sure, you can change plans, but be “all in” on one to start.

A couple of other tidbits I really thought were good is the mindset that the hiring manager is not necessarily trying to hire the BEST person, their instincts are to avoid loss. Switchers are a bigger risk for them and you have to be prepared to deal with their concerns when you go into the networking and interviewing process.

Negotiating.  Having a negotiation on salary at the offer actually STRENGTHENS the relationship with your boss – builds relationship and you get to see how you will work together and what kind of support is there. I had not thought of negotiating in this way but really see the wisdom. I think I have tried to say something similar to my clients but this was brilliant.

Her thoughts on networking were strong as well. We (career coaches) all know the importance of networking to build relationships, but her book really drove home the importance for people who want to switch jobs. I loved her term “Micro-networking” which is all the little things you can to strengthen relationships. i.e. “liking” on social media / bringing cookies to a meeting / keep track of b-day’s / attend events and make the rounds / repost articles and offer a summary. Create ambassadors (vs just networking).

There were so many great thoughts presented here with actionable steps at the end of each chapter. The strengths of the book are in mindset changes, branding, networking, and networking. (Yes I repeated that last one on purpose).

Why I Write: And Why You Might Want To

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Recently, I went on another tech-free retreat for the day which I try to do monthly. It is a time to think, read, plan, do walking meditation, and to write. I mind-mapped out five new blogs (one of them is this one). Last week I was working with a student in my Facilitating Career Development (FCD) class and we interviewed each other for one activity and I had a very revealing “aha” moment. She asked me “there are times in our lives when we feel particularly energized and positive. What was yours?”

What immediately came to mind is writing. In the summer of 2018, I started writing my book, A Field Guide for Career Practitioners, and I devoted the first hour of each day (Monday-Friday) to writing. When the book came out in June 2019, I realized I missed writing each morning. In January 2020, I began writing my book on my travels in 1983-84 to New Zealand. Ahhhhhhhh…..I loved it.

writing in my journal
From my New Zealand journal backpacking on Stewart Island on the muddiest trails I’ve ever seen

I love framing up blogs each month for people like you, and I also write a Christmas newsletter to family and friends now for over 30 years. Even my New Zealand book was completely based upon seven steno-pads of notes I took on my 8 months of traveling.

But why write?

Writing helps me remember things better. My strongest learning styles are partly kinesthetic and visual. I need to “see” the words in my head on paper and writing them down is so tactile. Even when I attend conferences, I tend to take tons of notes and seldom need to go back to them after. Just the process of note-taking helps me remember key points. But of course, I can go back to my notes and pick up the salient points from the session whenever I want.

Reflecting on the written words is much easier than reflecting on thoughts and ideas in my head. (See Fuzzy Thinking blog from a couple years ago). When I have an idea that I want to explore, writing it down forces me to get it organized in my head. What are the key points? What are the most important points? Why are they the most important? When that is all in my head, it is difficult to see the nuances. 

When it’s written, I can see how to best re-order the writing so it makes the most sense. Obviously, when trying to convey an idea or make an argument, it really matters what order you present them. Ultimately, I want you, the reader, to “get it” or to understand my thoughts better. As an extrovert, I can “throw words out” when talking, but often those words really need to be better organized. Writing forces me to take my extroverted words which are flying around the room, and corral them into some type of organized sense.

As I think about this (and write about it) I realize that I write for these reasons.

To Educate: My weekly career emails, my regular blogs, and my book are all examples of me taking an idea or a practice I know, and share it with others to help them improve.

writing xmas newsletter

To Entertain: My Christmas newsletters are a recap of our year as a family, but I work very hard to make them entertaining as well. I’ve kept all of my newsletters over the years, and I know some of my family have kept some of them too.

My friend, Rees, was so disappointed when I converted from the typewriter with all the “whiteouts” (younger folks won’t even know what that is), typo’s, and mistakes, to the computer where I could “hide” all these changes.

Pictured here is my Christmas 1994 Peacock’s Tale with all it’s imperfections.

To Think: I like to journal each morning as a way to slow down and also to flesh out my thoughts on things.

For Legacy: My Christmas newsletters are a bit of legacy, and my New Zealand book about my travels was written for family and friends. Others can enjoy it, but it is a legacy book that I wanted to write for people who know me.

If you are a writer, I’d love to hear why you write.

If you are not writing regularly now, I encourage you to consider creating a routine and finding the time to write, then let me know what you think. (Write it down and send it to me 🙂

Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a weekly email for career practitioners. Peak-Careers offers discussion-based online seminars for career practitioners focused on meeting continuing education needs for CCSP, GCDF and BCC certified professionals as well as workshops for career practitioners and individual career coaching.

He is the author of A Field Guide for Career Practitioners: Helping Your Clients Create Their Next Move and The Adventure of Finding Me in New Zealand. He is also the recipient of the 2020 Kenneth C. Hoyt Award from the National Career Development Association and the Mid-Atlantic Career Counseling Association’s Professional Contribution’s Award in 2020.

Sign up here to receive my  TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON.  You will also receive the career practitioner’s weekly email on a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more.