Joyful Weekend and Random Thoughts

Happy SAturday,
I'm sitting at my computer ... catching up on lots of small pieces of business and then hopefully, will edit another couple of chapters in my book.
I'm choosing to work all day today. Here in NYC we're expecting some aftermath of the hurricane moving up the coast. It is dark and dreary and will probably storm all afternoon and evening. It's a great day to hang out at home.

I had a fabulous experience this week. I got to be an Over 50 model on the Today show on Wednesday morning. I just responded to an email, and voila ... I was selected as one of five. It was a blast.
The limo picked me up at home at 6:15 a.m.and took me to NBC. We didn't go on til after 10:30 ... but there were outfits to be tried on and picked and then make up and hair. What a wonderful makeover. I felt trendy, youthful and excited. We were treated very well, lavished with food and snacks and then a limo to take me back home.
If you want to see me ... I'm the second on this video: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26526790#26526790

Anyhow, the best part was I wore this beautiful purple trench coat from Banana Republic. I think I'm going to beg them to donate it to me .... in exchange for posting my picture and that it's their coat. Wish me luck,

So, after feeling like a celebrity for 5 minutes on Wednesday, I returned to life as usual....

I lost most of that day, so am working today. It's fine. Tomorrow looks to be a beautiful day and I'm heading out of town for the day with a girlfriend.

My Summer is winding down. I'm beginning my traveling next week... off to San Francisco for 4 days, then home for a week, then to New Hampshire,Albany and Austin, TX... whew!

I'll check in here periodically as the mood hits and I have something to say.

Meanwhile, the campaigning continues, is escalating and getting nasty. I think I'll stop watching. I'll vote, I'll engage in conversation about it all, but I'll keep my thoughts to myself in public... I hate the arguments. And, I'm as opinionated as the next guy.
In summary ... we have two older guys on the tickets -- one for president and one for vice president. We have two young boomers on the ticket -- one for president and one for VP. And, we have a woman. It'll be really interesting. My only hope is that they continue to work on making this a better place to live for US .. the people and not just for their own agendas. We'll see.

Have a fabulous weekend. I'd love to hear from you about things you're interested in or want me to write about.

Ann

Yes, Let's Keep Boomers Working

I read a very great article this morning called I Brake for Boomers in the Workplace. Go here to read it all: http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/2008/06/dont-be-bum-rus.html?cid=120556616#comment-120556616

The point of the article is to acknowledge that many boomers are a) not ready to retire yet and b) that companies still need their input. It alludes to the fact that companies also need the technology talents of the Gen Xers. That's true as well.
The key here is that age needs to not be a divider, but rather we need to highlight the strenths of both and learn from one another.

One of my driving passions is to work with companies to improve on the culture and thus the productivity and team spirit of their employees. I mostly work with managers. I see that there is a substantial need for management teams to address the ways that the generations can work together AND to really focus on how to engage the boomers -- to keep them working as long as possible.

While there is often reference in recent articles that boomers HAVE to keep working because of the economy being tenuous at the moment. Let me make a statement here about that. I REFUSE TO BUY IN TO THE ECONOMY BEING BAD. The more the media tries to scare us about the economy, the more they drive us into panic. I'm not going there. We are an incredibly resilient country. We've been in lean times before and we always come out strong. This is not a time for companies to tighten their belts and stop offering growth experiences to their employees.But, rather, it's a perfect time to get creative, look for new and effective techniques to "bring out the best" in their teams. An analogy is the employee who gets fired and instead of panicking about unemployment, he takes his savings and goes back to school to expand his talents. Companies should do the same.Focus on expansion and growth. Get more creative.

If you'd like to see more ideas about how to engage the boomers and keep them longer, go to http://www.itsboomertime.com/reports.php and download my special report. It's filled with ideas.

So, boomers -- keep on trucking and working and teaching and mentoring and being fulfilled. You are the knowledge base of your companies, the backbones. Don't leave before you're ready and by all means, don't let them push you out of the nest before you're ready. Instead, be a mentor, a teacher, a leader and help to ensure that the succession will have an easy transition.

Have a great Sunday.
Ann