Losses, Arrivals and Appreciations - Day 29

29th December 2018 

29 a Sickle is 29 Knuts make a Sickle in the fictional wizard currency in JK Rowling's
Hary Potter books. 1 Galleon = 17 Sickles; 1 Sickle = 29 Knuts 1 Galleon = 493 Knuts.
Galleons are gold coins, Sickles are silver, and Knuts are copper. In the current turbulent
currency exchange markets, I am glad that we don't have to calculate in Knuts.

Welcome to the last weekend of 2018. I drove my mother-in-law home last night - she and I enjoyed a late supper at her local - it was such a treat to be treated. Thank you Kath. I will miss having her with us. I am planning on taking it quietly today, as the past few weeks have been quite demanding and I have not been able to spend as much time with my sons as I would have liked. Happy Saturday!

Today's post is by series veteran, Michael Moran, the Chief Executive and Founder of 10eighty, a business consultancy that helps people and organisations, particularly during times of transition and to grow employee engagement. Michael is an excellent coach. He commenced his career in Human Resources, having worked in the NHS and Financial Services sector. He has successfully run HR consultancies specialising in career management for the last 20 years.  Michael is a devoted husband and father (his daughter works as 10eighty's Busienss Development Executive and his son is in the British armed forces). Michael has a passion for sport and is a season ticket holder of Derby County (so clearly he is also an optimist). He is a published author, having written  “The Guide to Everlasting Employability”, and has also designed two career management apps to support career planning You can follow him on Twitter @mdmoran10Eighty. 

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It’s that time of year - time to reflect, looking back over 2018.

It’s all about taking the time to appreciate what you have and enjoying the moment.

As you get older you start to lose people who have been a constant feature in your life, it seems strange that they are no longer there (a bit of heartache).

At the same time, you see the arrival of the next generation, and the opportunity to shape their thinking and behaviours

(that includes supporting DCFC) (a bit of hope).

It’s important that you take the time to appreciate your achievements (the high-fives). Savour the moment. It is far too easy to be dismissive of things you once strived for as you move on to the next goal. Likewise, don’t beat yourself up about the things that didn’t work. Having blown £100k on marketing and business development that didn’t get the business to the next level, it is important to take the learnings, and seek out the positives. Business growth is not a straight line. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. Resilience and determination are essential characteristics for the entrepreneur.

So looking forward, it’s time to set goals. It’s time to remind yourself of mission and purpose. My mission for all those clients with whom I work is to help them achieve job satisfaction and career success. I truly believe this is something that is attainable for all. My purpose is to create a self-sustaining business, built on repeatable and predictable revenues.

As both a career coach and a business leader I recognise that you need to push yourself, take risks and seek out new experiences. This year I experienced my first massage and mediation sessions; trust me when I say this is well outside my comfort zone. Whilst not something I would necessarily repeat, it is good to do things outside of your comfort zone. This serves to reinforce my belief in the importance of learning and, indeed, the need to seek out learning experiences. As a career coach I see too many people who have checked out of the learning habit. I remain absolutely convinced that the secret of everlasting employability (quick plug for the book) is self-investment.

This year my big self-investment has been podcasts. I have combined my love of walking (read the need for exercise) with listening to podcasts. My favourite work podcast has to be Jacob Morgan’s The Future of Work, with sports favourites Radio 5 Live The Football Daily and Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong guy. Please check them out.

So to conclude, as we come to the end of 2018 I urge you to appreciate those around you, your family, colleagues and friends. Take the time to reflect on what you’ve achieved in the last 12 months, but more importantly make a commitment to stretch yourself, seek out new experiences and go boldly into the New Year.

Happy Christmas (we are still within the 12 days). Wishing you all a very prosperous New Year.

Light at end of the tunnel - Day 17

Day 17 (Sunday 17th December 2017)

17th century law, passed in England by Oliver Cromwell, made it

illegal to eat mince pies (a small, crumbly pastry cup filled with spiced currants and fruit and, 

in those days some minced meat) on Christmas day; he also banned Christmas pudding and

anything that could be considered "gluttony". The law has never been rescinded 

so, technically, most of us break the law on Christmas Day.

It is traditional to meet up with family and friends at this time of year and tonight I will be having dinner with my father and his wife. I don't get to see him as often as I would like to, but he has just sold his home in Wales and is moving closer to where we live, so perhaps 2018 might be the year for closer family links. I do hope so. He is a huge part of who and why I am.

Today's piece is written by another influential and caring man, Michael Moran, the Chief Exec and founder of 10Eighty. Michael exudes positive energy but is simultaneously pragmatic and commercial. Michael's career commenced in HR (in the NHS and Financial Services), but for the past two decades he has run business consultancies specialising in career management. He has co-written a good book,“The Guide to Everlasting Employability”, which helps individuals understand their skills and the need for personal responsibility to achieve success.  When not steering the business or helping people, Michael relaxes via sport (more a spectator now than a player) or by socialising. He is also active on social media (his Twitter handle is @mdmoran10Eighty).

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Due to recent cutbacks the light at the end of the tunnel has been switched off! 

Mail Rail tunnel, London (now disused - ran from Whitechapel to Paddington)

I can track this aphorism back ten years, or so, and we’ve all felt that way sometimes. Problems caused by the difficult economic and political situation, job insecurity, and the rising cost of living can make it hard to see the bright side, particularly in the depths of winter.

It’s time to think about goals for the coming year and that’s an ideal opportunity to recharge your optimism and positivity. We all need clearly articulated targets and goals in both our personal and professional life in order to find fulfilment. Well defined, meaningful goals lead to higher levels of performance than vague or easily realised goals.

The benefit of setting goals:

• Increased motivation when goals are realistic and attainable.
• Provides a performance focus.
• Bolsters the work ethic and fosters perseverance with a goal in sight.
• Facilitates feedback and benchmarking.

Set targets and measure your progress, if you have a clear view of where you want to be it is easier to evaluate forward momentum and, by setting and taking action toward your goals, you will bolster your self-confidence. If you need to make changes, then bite the bullet and take control - a healthier work-life balance will result in greater productivity and motivation.

Delineate your goals with your real desires and ambitions in mind, then the possibilities that working toward your goal will bring will inspire will give real traction to the efforts you make. Design a clear plan of action, chunk big goals into milestones needed to achieve your overall goal.

Plan smaller objectives into your daily to-do list and create momentum with regular work towards your goal. Each small change paves the way for bigger changes, so every day ask yourself, what can I do today that helps me reach my goal? For every objective accomplished and goal achieved be sure to reward yourself, a pat on the back at the least, and then set on towards the next objective.

Learn as you go

Everything is described as a journey these days, Strictly contestants make constant reference to their journey. "A defined course of traveling; one's path in life," from Old French journee "day's work or travel" is a little too rigid for my liking, we need to be flexible and versatile in dealing with a complex and volatile world.

Key to achieving your goals and attaining whatever you define as success are resilience and the ability to learn along the way. Resilience helps us to adapt when faced with barriers, challenges and setbacks, as we find ways and means to address, overcome or bypass obstacles and deal with uncertainty or unexpected outcomes.

Learning agility helps us find new ways to tackle setbacks and challenges. When it is no longer a question of doing better what you did before – when running harder and faster doesn’t help - what is required are new behaviours and innovative solutions. When dealing with uncertainty and volatility the ability to reframe your reference points in order to develop radical and creative responses is crucial.

Tips for setting effective goals:

• Express goals positively, focus on what you want to achieve
• Be specific in terms of timeline and track progress to goals
• Prioritise as to which goals to focus attention on first
• Write goals down so they can be reviewed regularly
• Chunk down goals to small, achievable tasks – this allows frequent      opportunities to accomplish a goal
• Set realistic goals that are achievable and within your own control

Go, get what you want in 2018!

Follow your heart

Day 5 (Monday 5th December 2016)

5th Nuclear weapon test undertaken by North Korea occurred on 

9th September 2016 (the date is the 68th anniversary of 

the founding of North Korea). The other 4 were 6th January 2016,

12th Feb 2013, 25th May 2009 and 9th October 2006.

I was both amazed and delighted when this post dropped into my inbox. I have known Michael Moran for years, but had no idea that he was a follower or fan of the Advent Blogs series.  Michael is the Chief Executive and Founder of 10Eighty - the specialist organisation that works with organisations to ensure that they achieve the best outcomes in relation to their people (80% of people in companies are the "bedrock" and results can be achieved by increasing their engagement, the remaining 20% can be split into two groups of 10 - the first are the talented star performers that any business needs to identify, attract, and retain the final 10% are in the process of leaving (for a multitude of reasons) - Michael and his team can help with each group, hence the corporate name). 

Michael cut his teeth in the National Health, working with unions and in "personnel" (as it was then) within the Health Service, before moving into The City in time for Big Bang. Michael developed his career within leading brokers and commodity specialists, focusing on organisational effectiveness and strategy. He ceased being an operations manager to establish and lead Penna's Financial Services arm. Michael believes in self-development and continuous learning. Whilst at Penna he found time to study, achieving an MBA from Warwick - when chatting with him it is hard not to be inspired by his quick wit and perceptive questioning). In the early Noughties Michael left to have greater autonomy in running a business, joining Fairplace. Throughout his career he has specialised in working with and supporting people. Michael is active on social Media, you can follow him on Twitter, his handle is @mdmoran10eighty.

As the title of his post perhaps suggests, his piece is full of hope and inspiration - simple, sage advice (just what Michael has provided for me at times, over the years, when we've met up for a chat).

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Follow your heart 

This piece was inspired by the news that after years of giving careers advice to readers of the Financial Times, the award-winning columnist Lucy Kellaway is changing career.

Kellaway believes that changing careers leads to richer lives, and that at the age of 57 she is excited by the challenge. Kellaway admits that it won’t be an option for those who can’t afford the smaller pay packet of a teacher’s starting salary but thinks there is a “demographic sweet spot” of those whose children have left home and who avoided the worst of the housing market.

Most of us are likely to be working into our sixties and seventies and career change may be a welcome option for many. Take a gap year, retrain, do an MBA, change direction. 

You can reinvent yourself or start afresh. Do you want to be a gallery owner, a landscape gardener, a football coach, a hypnotherapist?

Silvana de Soissons left a role in The City to become initially a food writer and cookery
teacher, before focusing on artisan food (she started her first food blog, The Foodie Bugle,
which, the following year, went on to win the Guild of Food Writers Media Award). In addition to The Foodie Bugle,
she now has a shop in Bath selling fresh local produce and beautiful but strictly useful objects for the house

Live your values

Many people fall into a career that suits but doesn’t inspire them. You don’t have to stay there forever, though. Don’t be constrained by goals you set in the past - there are so many ways to find a perfect career! Your story is unique and the possibilities are endless.

I advocate that over the holiday you spend some time on a rigorous self-evaluation and don’t compromise your values or stifle your ambition. Apply some mindfulness to your career plan and follow your intuition. You need to live by your values and convictions and if you can work with others who share your passion that helps. You have to be the change you want, trust yourself and do whatever it takes to make a difference and put your ideas about a fulfilling and sustainable career into practice.

It sounds simple but we live and work in a complex world and sometimes we have to negotiate and compromise but nobody is perfect and you don’t have all the answers but keep asking questions and chasing your dream.

Career activism

Becoming a successful career activist is about opening your mind to the possibilities around you. My advice:

• It's not a privilege to have a job you love, it is what you deserve.
• Making changes may be hard but you have the power to plan your life and change it.
• Use your network, connect with those who inspire you.
• Cultivate a focus on your career that will allow you to develop and thrive.
• Make a commitment to continuous self-improvement.
• Be ready and be flexible and courageous in considering your options, you have a wealth of experience, knowledge and perspectives, be creative about how you apply them.

If you think you need to make changes, next year, go for it!