Feature
What Did I Do With My Life?
It shines from within
You make your own day
You make your own night
And sometimes you win
Oh, show us the way
But you always get through
Oh, show us the light
~Doobie Brothers
How Do The Fools Survive? |
Still in shell shock from my husband Mark’s recent heart attack, I was uncertain of my footing as I prepared for my full-day program, Mid-Career in the Fast LaneSM, for the World Future Society at their annual conference. Staying focused was not easy. Every possible obstacle came up along the way to derail my plans. It was the first time I’ve used PowerPoint for a full day presentation – from the moment I did my test runs it went haywire with slides going forwards and backwards at will—just not mine!:)
No matter what, I was determined to show up and be fully present. I wanted to give more than was expected. No need for me to have worried.
I was joined by some savvy experienced careerists who made it easy for me to show up -- together we became present and went with the flow of the day, exploring being in mid-career finding yourself and your career in the fast lane of the "Great Recession". That’s a multiple whammy for most of us because first we have to answer these fundamental questions:
What is Mid-Career for you? How do you define fast lane? Do you want to get back in the fast lane, find an exit ramp or perhaps just change lanes?
If you are one of those Mid-Careerists who are part of the reported 10% plus unemployed in the U.S., (which does not include those who have given up looking for a job*), you have to do both: answer these questions, while also looking hard for a paying job. I would call this being on the "side road". *NYT: Faces of the Uncounted Unemployed - U.S. 090909
The conference was going great until out of nowhere music was blasting and people were cheering at the top of their lungs and stomping so hard that our water glasses swished! Only it wasn’t us. In the next ballroom throngs of people were reveling. When we heard the host bellowing out welcomes to the annual Chicago Black Hawk fan festivities, I almost swooned.
Then I laughed. We all did.
How appropriate that we had an unplanned hands-on learning experience of what futurists call a "Wild Card" event—one that is so out of the realm of likelihood—and its potential to trigger chaos and breakdown was quite clear-cut. Our boisterous fan invasion underscored our exploration of what it’s going to take to navigate our epoch changing times with the unexpected being the norm.
Flexibility and resiliency are required skills for continued success these days – even more so in the future—They allow us to "go with the flow" , to let go and come on. This is especially important when change happens so fast. This is just the beginning. I promise you that change today happens far slower than tomorrow’s.
Right on the spot we had to re-sync as a group—and individually re-center. Then we were able to refocus on what was in front of us right now, while keeping our "eye" on the future. Both the future we intend and the one that shows up. Sometimes planning alone just isn’t enough.
With so much in the balance, it sure does feel like we are in the fast lane most of the time. If we are going to be able to shift in a moment’s notice and still land on our feet and get behind the wheel again, we each must understand change vs. transition and how to respond successfully. Whether you own your business, lead an organization or are in-between gigs, the "Great Recession" is forcing us to make some tough new choices while demanding skill sets we haven’t honed and perhaps never knew we had.
So many of us want to get a handle on What’s Next; to understand our future -- and make our time on the planet well-lived, and matter. That’s why futures education and continuous improvement means so much to me. It’s the only way we’ll all be able to make the leap from the old to the new -- only transformers need apply.
Futuring is not about crystal balls and witches -- although wise people abound. It is both a science and art. It is the deep exploration of our possible futures based on profound knowledge and know-how. Futurists can be found in most sectors. But many more will be needed as we go deeper into the 21st century. The majority of us are in midlife, a significant 50% of us stateside are over 40 and by 2020, 78% of us will be 50+. Many of the early pioneers are entering their later life, becoming elders and mentors to those coming up the learning curve. I have no doubt that futures will be the field of the future. (Sorry I couldn’t resist the pun.)
The WFS uses this annual conference to bring together the innovators and thought leaders of our time – those who are all about the future now, not later. Professional Futurists come from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines -- many with more than one. All are incredibly dedicated to making the future work-- in our personal lives, at work and around the globe.
Coming in to the conference I didn’t know who was coming to the all–day session so I had to be ready to go in any direction based on who showed up. Everyone there is a thought leader in their field or discipline. It was a mixture of current executives, entrepreneurs, consulting/advisory professionals and those in the government and the military. Some are between contract stints, a few are financially independent seeking new vistas, while others are career changers.
All are definitely innovators wanting to find meaning and significance in their What’s Next: doing well, doing good. Several of the financially secure are taking the time to seek out new adventures and opportunities. They want to express themselves fully, while preserving and growing their wealth and freedom. Others are asking themselves, Should I leave? or Should I stay?" Others are in the next phase asking "When, How and Where?" A few know the outplacement "axe" is coming: it is just a matter of time.
So diverse yet so similar. It never ceases to amaze me how delighted I get when everyone starts to realize that they were meant to be in this session together at this time. Cross-learning acts as a catalyst to vault us into deeper terrain where we are able to separate the dross from the gold of what is needed to move forward successfully.
Armed with greater clarity about what matters most, each of us formed a new or re-invigorated template to determine our options for the probable and improbable alternative futures that we may face. Holding an unwavering holographic big picture vision, along with a refined or defined game plan, each of us knows much more now about what needs to happen to realize our own preferred sustainable future. We also learned we must explore all possibilities and keep refining our "futurecastingSM" skills so that we can respond to whatever comes from the unknown.
"Inspired By The Past, Built For The Future"
~Panerai Watch ad/Conde Nast Traveler |
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