Episode #88 – Marc works with “Juan,” (not his real name) to pivot his career, in the third of four episodes featuring “Juan.”

 

Description:

In Part 3 of this series, Marc covers the second feedback session with Juan for his personality assessment.

Key Takeaways:

[1:40] Marc welcomes you to Episode 88 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast (the intro of which he is recording inside his closet in Ajijic) and invites you to share this podcast with others. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues so Marc can help more people.

[2:31] Next week’s episode is an interesting interview with Jeanne Yocum. Jeanne has been self-employed as a public relations consultant and ghostwriter for over 30 years. This Spring, Jeanne published her first solo book, The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss. This book really resonated with Marc.

[2:58] This week is the third episode of the four-part series “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” Juan is in his mid-fifties, a former school teacher, technology trainer and educator, adjunct professor, and multipotentialite. Juan is figuring out what is next.

[3:19] If you have not listened to the first two parts of this series, please stop now and listen to Episode 83 and Episode 84 before listening to this third part. You will find all the reports for the series to download at Careerpivot.com/Juan. Marc added more reports for this Episode 88.

[4:00] Marc has already gotten feedback from a number of people about how this series resonates with them.

[4:09] Marc introduces Juan. This episode is the second feedback session for Juan.

Now on to the podcast…

Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio |Google Play

[4:17] Juan reports on his homework from the first feedback session. Juan recalls the stress of leaving a union teaching position to going to a freelance situation, and what that meant to him. The security and convenience of benefits are alluring but Juan felt unchallenged and stagnant in a protected job.

[6:01] Juan learned a lot about his personality and natural predispositions in the first feedback session. He says the Birkman Assessment was on the spot. Juan wants to be high-challenged. He was happy doing freelancing. He enjoyed traveling a lot.

[7:37] Marc introduces the Preferred Work Styles (PWS) report. This covers Juan’s natural management style, how he fits into the corporate work environment, social adaptability and social responsibilities, and how Juan makes decisions.

[8:40] Juan is a global conceptual thinker.

[9:03] Juan’s knowledge specialist rank is 7/10. This is common for Marc’s clientele. Juan reads the knowledge specialist description. Juan leads by example.

[9:59] Juan ranks 3/10 in directive management. Juan reads the description. Juan doesn’t lead by telling.

[11:00] Juan ranks 2/10 in delegative management. Juan is not interested in a VP or CIO position.

[12:37] In the PWS document, Juan’s work motivation is ranked at 2/10. He needs to see value in his work to get motivated. Just having work is not motivation enough.

[13:59] Marc shares an example of someone who goes crazy with assignments given without explaining their purpose. Marc and Juan apply the rating to Juan’s experience in the public school system. Juan needs work he believes in.

[15:57] Juans ranks 4/10 in corporate adaptability. Juan reads the description for the level of commitment to the organization. Someone with a score of 3 or lower does not participate in organizational politics. Juan was proud to work for the organizations where he was given a lot of freedom and flexibility.

[1718] Juan identifies more with the good managers he has had than with the corporations where they worked.

[18:55] Juan ranks 7/10 in self-development. Juan reads the description. A rank of 7 shows he learns a job best in a structured onboarding process. Being left on his own is uncomfortable for him.

[21:26] Juan ranks 6/10 in social adaptability. This is about his opinions of other people in general, relating to trust. A low-trust individual would make a good policeman. A high-trust individual tends to get burned. Marc always recommends, in a new job situation, regardless of your trust ranking, to find ways to let people earn your trust.

[23:36] Juan ranks 5/10 in social responsibility. He is right in the middle. Juan reads the description. A rank of five and above shows a willingness to go along with the rules and conform to social expectations. Juan was a good corporate citizen. Juan, as a Latin-American, has bucked the traditional cultural trend to marry and have a family.

[28:00] Juan ranks 5/10 in public contact and 6/10 in detail. Juan reads the public contact and detail descriptions. Being in the middle of both areas means Juan doesn’t want to be around people all the time, but some time is good.

[29:45] Juan ranks 7/10 global and 4/10 linear. Juan reads the global and linear descriptions. Juan follows a relational and holistic approach to solve problems. Low-middle linear means Juan is not mostly logical but uses intuition as well. He thinks big. By contrast, Marc is a 10 linear. For Marc, everything is a process.

[30:37] Juan ranks 8/10 conceptual and 3/10 concrete. Juan reads the descriptions. Conceptual utilizes abstract information, experience, intuition, and knowledge to find fresh solutions. Concrete uses analysis and facts to solve problems. Juan prefers to use intuition and experience before facts.

[31:24] In combinations of problem-solving, Juan is a conceptual global thinker. Juan reads the description. Juan is a strategic thinker and is comfortable with ambiguity. He is open to new ideas and will consider all facets of an issue before taking action. His approach is more intuitive than fact-based.

[32:10] The priority of a conceptual global thinker is to make sure a problem has been fully identified and defined. Then they move to take action to solve the problem. Juan sees this as 100% on-target.

[32:41] Marc gives Juan some homework to use this as a framework to consider how he solves problems and find three problems he solved at work and three problems he solved in his personal life and report back to Marc how he did it. Marc wants Juan to be able to see a pattern and explain it.

[33:07] Marc is a linear concrete thinker. A linear concrete thinker and a conceptual global thinker can either complement each other or “kill” one another. They think very differently. Marc asks Juan to observe how his own brain works. If he can explain that in a job interview the hiring manager will have a better idea if Juan will fit in.

[34:03] One of the big problems a hiring manager has is thinking everyone thinks like them. We are all different.

[34:48] The Birkman Map Summary shows what Juan likes to do. “You may like to innovate or create, plan how to do things, consider the future, create new approaches, and look at things theoretically.”

[35:21] Juan self-describes as “You prefer to be enthusiastic and flexible, assertive and competitive, logical and objective, energetic, direct, and open.”

[35:43] In the next feedback session, Marc will discuss in detail with Juan his stress report and how he wants to be treated. In short, Juan wants people to show they appreciate him, are interested in his feelings, as well as logic, give him time for complex decisions, give him time alone or with one or two others, and not overschedule him.

[36:18] Marc observes that Juan wants to be around a small number of people he likes and who like him. He doesn’t want to be rushed on decisions. He wants some alone time and wants to manage his own schedule.

[36:39] Marc points out that how Juan behaves and how he wants to be treated are very different. Juan is a closet introvert. He has learned to behave differently because he is expected to.

[37:06] Last, are Juan’s primary stress behaviors. Marc gives Juan an assignment to cut them out and place them where he will see them frequently. If he catches them early, he can change the behavior. Juan’s stress behaviors are withdrawing, fatigue, indecisiveness, pessimism, over-sensitivity to criticism.

[37:49] Juan recognizes withdrawing as a career pattern after completing an assignment or being laid off. He also recognizes fatigue in the office, and indecisiveness while a freelancer.

[38:48] Marc gives Juan a homework assignment to translate 8-15 of the usual behavior phrases into ‘Juan-talk,’ figure out his problem-solving style, and fill out a career reflection worksheet about the times he was the happiest with his boss, his team, and when he felt valued, with the right level of activity.

[40:16] When Juan understands what are the best conditions for him, and what are the worst conditions, he can run to the good stuff, instead of running from the bad stuff. Marc just wants Juan to make sure he doesn’t go back to a bad circumstance. If he stays a freelancer he has fewer constraints; if he goes to teaching he has security.

[41:26] Marc talks about relapsing and uses himself as an example. He went back to something — a tech startup — that was familiar. It wasn’t healthy for him.

[42:05] Juan tells how grateful he is for Marc’s insight and helping him find the right course.

[42:33] Marc describes why Juan, being a multipotentialite, has bounced around in his career. He thought with enough education he would be recession-proof. He wanted to do something different every few years. In his mid-fifties, with no clear direction, the goal is to steer to a path of success.

[44:38] Check back next week, when Marc will interview Jeanne Yocum.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

The Self-Employment Survival Guide: Proven Strategies to Succeed as Your Own Boss, by Jeanne Yocum

Careerpivot.com/Juan

CareerPivot.com/Episode-83 “Can Juan Repurpose His Career? Part 1”

CareerPivot.com/Episode-84 “Can Juan Repurpose His Career? Part 2”

Birkman Assessment

Reports used in the Feedback Session with Juan Doe

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has five initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. They are guiding him on what to build. He will start recruiting members for the sixth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, branding sessions and a community where you can seek help.

CareerPivot.com/Episode-88 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.

Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Careerpivot.com

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

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Episode #87 – Mike made an amazing career pivot that allows him to serve generations of families in a niche business.

Description:

Marc revisits his interview with career pivoter Mike O’Krent. Mike O’Krent, Founder of LifeStories Alive, LLC, specializes in making personal history videos for families that value their heritage. They create family heirlooms in video — digitally mastered records of life stories with personal accounts, photos, and mementos of family history. Marc has known Mike for 10-plus years, and it has been fascinating, watching him grow his very unique business. Marc and Mike discuss what Mike did in the first half of life, why he quit without a plan, the life-changing experience of interviewing Holocaust, or Shoah, survivors, and, the nudge from a business coach that set him on the second half of life.

Marc thinks you’ll find Mike’s story quite fascinating; Marc got emotional listening to it again. Listen in to get inspiration for your own career pivot.

Key Takeaways:

[1:49] Marc welcomes you to Episode 87 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites you to share this podcast with others. The larger the audience he can reach, the more people he can help. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.

Now on to the podcast…

Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio |Google Play

[2:23] Marc’s original plan was to share Part 3 of “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” But he is delaying that for a week. Today’s episode is a rebroadcast of Episode 7, Marc’s interview with Mike O’Krent.

[2:39] Marc introduces the episode. If you hear any thumping, Marc is in Mexico, and there is construction going on around the area. You can hear about Marc’s drive to Mexico in Episode 86.

[3:52] Marc and Mike start the interview.

[4:14] In the first half of life, Mike was in retail floor coverings, in his grandfather’s business in San Antonio, Texas. He started his own carpeting business in Austin in ’98, but sold it in ’04, without an idea what to do next.

[5:11] In the early days, Mike and his grandfather went to markets in Chicago and Dallas, where 200-plus carpet mills vied for their business. By the time Mike sold his business, there were three carpet mills left. The negotiation and the fun had gone.

[5:55] Mike gives an overview of what he does in his company, Life Stories Alive, LLC.

[6:38] In 1995, Mike was volunteering for the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, visiting schools and teaching about the Holocaust. Steven Spielberg was filming Schindler’s List, in Poland, and survivors were coming up and saying they have a story they want to tell.

[7:03] Spielberg wanted to preserve their stories. He started The Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. He set a goal of capturing 50,000 survivors’ stories, worldwide, and ended up with 52,000, in 39 languages.

[7:32] The foundation asked the Jewish Federation of San Antonio if they had someone to volunteer for training to interview local survivors. Mike jumped at the chance. He learned the process of interviewing people for their history. He interviewed survivors from ’96 to 2000 — it was one of the most fascinating experiences of his life.

[8:43] So, Mike had the process, and he loved the interviews, but then they were over in 2000. When he sold his carpeting business, he went to Administaff and worked, until he realized the corporate world was not for him. He still had no plan.

[10:38] Through his wife, Mike found a good business coach, who gave him an exercise: make a list of everything you’ve done, that 1) you liked and 2) you thought you did well. Exclude activities that don’t meet both tests. The next week Mike read a list of 20-25 things to the coach.

[11:54] The coach picked up on Mike’s excitement over the Holocaust interviews and asked him to talk about it. When Mike finished, the coach asked, can you make a business doing something like that? The lightbulb went on, and Mike was on his way. He planned for the resources he would need to get started.

[13:22] Marc shares how body language is a clue to your passion. A coach sitting across from you can see better what interests you than you can when you talk to them because they see your excitement through your body language.

[14:01] Mike got his first client, Bill, through his wife. Bill was a bank officer with a strong corporate background. Mike did his video for free, as a test. When he saw it, Bill called his connections and said, “You need to do business with Mike,” and handed Mike the phone! That’s how he got his first clients.

[15:44] The technology has changed. Mike started with videotapes, then DVDs, now he can upload a life story to the cloud or use other delivery methods. No matter the technology, there has always been and there will always be a way to do a life story.

[16:44] Besides personal life stories, Mike has done documentaries for businesses and nonprofits. These stories pull in customers, or donations, with their emotional appeal. When you can see the faces and the expression, that pulls the heartstrings.

[18:31] Mike had thought to franchise his business. He refers back to the franchise-type model Steven Spielberg used to capture 52,000 stories all over the world. If only Mike could duplicate himself — he has all the other processes down!

[19:30] Mike feels very fulfilled by the individual interviews he does and keeping himself productive and busy.

[19:51] Mike does only the interviewing. Videography, lighting, and sound, are hired out to professionals who accompany him, so Mike can focus on listening intently to the interviewee with no distractions. The editing is also hired out to professionals.

[22:05] Marc wants solopreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to realize they don’t have to do it all. Let the experts make you look good.

[22:50] Mike has done alright with word of mouth but is now moving to a marketing professional.

[24:55] Marc recaps Mike’s experience, common to most second-half-of-life pivoters. There was an idea to do something but no action was taken. After a period of years, there was a trigger get started. Finally, there came the realization that things do not turn out exactly as planned and there is a need for nimbleness to meet market needs.

[27:52] Marc’s last thoughts: Mike has taken a different path that most of us wouldn’t think would be very practical. But he has made it work.

[29:20] Check back next week for Part 3 of “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?”

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

Careerpivot.com/Episode-83 “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?”

Careerpivot.com/Episode-7 “Mike Made an Amazing Career Pivot…”

CareerPivot.com/Episode-86 “Marc Miller and His Wife are Expatriating to Mexico”

“How to Move Abroad and Take Your Job with You — Part IV”

Administaff (Now Insperity)

Careerpivot.com/Episode-6 “How to Prepare, Get Fit, and … Shift … with Kerry Hannon”

Don Osmond

Website: Life Stories Alive

Email: MOKrent@LifeStoriesAlive.com

Phone (512) 431-8166

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc has accepted five initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. He is recruiting members for the sixth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. Ask to be put on the waiting list. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, branding sessions, and most importantly, a community where you can seek help. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist for the next cohort at CareerPivot.com/Community.

CareerPivot.com/Episode-87 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.

Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

 

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above.

Like What You Read? Join Career Pivot

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

Do You Need Help With ...

Job Search	Career Pivot/Change	Career Success	Careers in the 2nd Half of Life
Social Media	Multi-Generational Workplace	Networking	Entrepreneurship