thecareerbeat.com Blog

Meryl Streep: one inspiring risk-taker

It was just a matter of time before I found a way to feature Meryl Streep here.

Full disclosure: I am a HUGE fan of this actress — not only because she is unbelievably talented, but also because she is a classy human being who has conducted her career with integrity and intelligence.

There is a great tribute to her career and her choices in the San Francisco Chronicle this week. The starting point is an appreciation for her latest, surprising work in the film musical “Mamma Mia!”

The article rightly points out something we can all learn from Ms. Streep: Don’t be afraid to take risks. For example, after her amazing work in “The Devil Wears Prada,” she acted in a few well-intentioned duds last year, such as “Dark Matter” and “Rendition.” Nevertheless “Prada” and “Mamma Mia!” were also risks, and they paid off big-time.

She is a “Super Trouper” inspiration for us all.

(For more on career risks worth taking, see this article.)

Boomers do good, avoid retirement

The concept of retirement is losing favor, in part because of economic necessities but also because many older workers want an “encore career” instead.

The trend is taking hold among the massive baby boomer generation, many of whom are hitting retirement age but want to use their talents to “give back” through work that helps society and is personally fulfilling.

The phenomenon is explored in the book “Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life,” by Marc Freedman. The book features inspiring real-life examples, including an insurance agent now working for HUD, a car salesman who became a social entrepreneur, and a health-care executive who now serves the homeless community as an advocate.

You can learn more at encore.org and Civic Ventures, the organization founded by Freedman.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof also wrote an inspiring column yesterday about this trend. I am already looking forward to my encore career!

Coming soon: 4-day workweeks?

How will the average American workplace look different in five years?

The experts at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CGC) make seven fascinating predictions in this recent article from Yahoo! HotJobs.

My favorite is that four-day workweeks, consisting of 10-hour days, will become more common. Surprisingly, 23% of companies already offer this option for employees, according to John Challenger, CEO of CGC.

This sort of work schedule would make a lot of employees happy (myself included), in part because it will save on commuting costs. But it could also save employers when it comes to energy bills, not to mention other benefits. (See my earlier post about how Utah state offices are adopting the four-day week.)

For the other six predictions, read the article.

Good graduation advice: Watch your habits!

I haven’t heard many snippets from commencement speeches this year that wowed me (like my favorite from Mr. Rogers, posted earlier), but here’s a goodie from author James Fallows at Ursinus College. Check out this excerpt and others in yesterdays’ summary in the New York Times.

“In the end, we are our habits, so take time developing good ones. … Some of these are obvious. No joke, don’t smoke! Also, don’t type I.M.’s while you drive. Get in the habit of sports and exercise — by your 10th reunion, you’ll know who has and hasn’t, and you’ll know even more each subsequent one.

“Get in the habit of being happy. We all have problems which we can’t control; what we can control is how we look at them. Get in the habit of being excited. It’s a great big world, with no excuse for being bored. It’s fun to have feuds and enemies — I’ve had my share — but break the habit of nursing grudges.”

Good habits, like the ones he suggests, will also pay big dividends over the life of your career.

Moving out of the midcareer morass

Inertia is “what happens when a body is at rest,” if I remember correctly from my high-school physics class. But it can also happen to bodies at work!

This is especially true for people who are in their middle career years, when they may feel less challenged by their jobs or lacking in direction for advancing their careers. It’s what inertia looks like in the professional realm.

If you’re not careful, that inertia could lead to stagnation, and your job could even be at risk in this time of cost-cutting (i.e., maybe your employer could get your job done with someone more junior?).

For some good tips to boost your upward mobility, check out this article about midcareer malaise, or this one about kicking your career into gear.

Most inspiring commencement speech of all time?

I finally found a link to one of the most inspiring commencement speeches of all time, in my opinion. And it’s from the late Fred “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Rogers, delivered at Dartmouth in 2002.

What impresses me so much is one small story that can’t be repeated enough…

“We are intimately related. May we never even pretend that we are not. Have you heard my favorite story that came from the Seattle Special Olympics? Well, for the 100-yard dash there were nine contestants, all of them so-called physically or mentally disabled. All nine of them assembled at the starting line and at the sound of the gun, they took off. But not long afterward one little boy stumbled and fell and hurt his knee and began to cry. The other eight children heard him crying; they slowed down, turned around and ran back to him. Every one of them ran back to him. One little girl with Down Syndrome bent down and kissed the boy and said, “This’ll make it better.” And the little boy got up and he the rest of the runners linked their arms together and joyfully walked to the finish line. They all finished the race at the same time. And when they did, everyone in that stadium stood up and clapped and whistled and cheered for a long, long, time. People who were there are still telling the story with great delight. And you know why. Because deep down, we know that what matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What really matters is helping others win too. Even if it means slowing down and changing our course now and then.”

Great stuff. I’ll be looking for other great snippets from graduation speeches that can inspire all of us in our work. In the meantime, read the entire speech by Mr. Rogers.