Work Wanted: Protect Your Retirement Plans in Uncertain Times Review

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(More customer reviews)Strongly recommend this as a wonderful source of practical help in navigating the difficult passage from work and career to retirement and new frontiers. Accessible, very readable and exhaustive: sort of akin to a "Turbotax" program for preparing ones "returns for the future". The authors don't make the common mistake of pandering to Baby Boomer hubris and are commendably non-judgmental and wise. The tone is more: "Did you know this?"; "Have you fully thought through that?"; "Can you afford what you plan to do?". And herein lies an interesting twist: events in the global economy have swept away many of the book's rosier assumptions and yet have made it all the more indispensable. The plunge in 401Ks and retirement wealth is calamitous in absolute terms but particularly so for the legion of boomers who don't have the working years left to recoup. Painful and unfair certainly but no better moment for a full audit of hopes, dreams, health and wealth. Work Wanted will ease the pain and help clarify options.

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"Work Wanted is a must-read for all boomers who see more than a finish line for their career! Jim Walker and Linda Lewis bring new light to the concepts of aging, work, and retirement in this great book."–Marshall Goldsmith, executive coach and author, What Got You Here Won't Get You There"This book was perfect for me, a younger baby boomer. It helped me to create my roadmap to financial independence and addresses many questions I didn't even know I had!"–Carol A. Gallagher, Ph.D., bestselling author, Going to the Top"The best resource available for professionals interested in planning their older years. Work Wanted makes a persuasive case that we can and should make paid work an important part of our older years. Most of us want to keep some attachment to the work world as we move into the retirement years, and Work Wanted tells us everything you need to know to do so."–Peter Cappelli, George W. Marshall Professor of Management, The Wharton School, and author, Talent on Demand: Managing Talent in an Age of UncertaintyThe Complete Action Plan for Every Baby Boomer Who Wants to Keep Working–and Thriving!This is the definitive handbook for every baby boomer who wants, needs, or expects to keep on working! You'll find practical, realistic, action-oriented advice for working on your terms, not someone else's...reinventing yourself for your next stage of life...finding more meaning in the work you choose...protecting your finances and your lifestyle...and a whole lot more!If you're a baby boomer and a professional, chances are you will live far into your 80s or beyond. That means you'll have 20+ more years to actively work and pursue your interests. Work Wanted will help you make those years as valuable as you possibly can. Packed with practical checklists, references, and case studies, this book is organized for action, not talk. Drs. James Walker and Linda Lewis first explore the myths, falsehoods, and obsolete "conventional wisdom" about aging and retirement that stand in your way. Drawing on their experience working with companies and individuals facing these issues, Walker and Lewis help you realistically assess the challenges you'll actually face–from your real income needs to your changing goals. Discover why a growing shortage of experienced people will give you more workplace leverage than ever before. Then, learn how to implement an action plan to keep working on your own terms at your current company, if that's what you want. Ready to move on? Work Wanted will support you in reinventing yourself, pursuing more meaningful work, acquiring new skills, and even mentoring your new younger colleagues. Whatever you want to do, this book will help you stay vital, happy, and healthy while you're doing it...not just for years, but decades!• Boomers without boundaries!Transform the landscape of work and retirement, one choice at a time• Chart your own future–and make it happenDefine the value you will add and the difference you will make...then do it!• No more "Wal-Mart greeter" syndromeFind professional work that is fulfilling, motivating, satisfying, and meaningful• Choose the right options at the right timesKeep working, go part-time, phase into retirement, switch careers, return to school, or become a "free agent"

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Harvard Business Review on Managing Your Career in Tough Times (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)I came across this book by accident. Book like this one don't land on display tables of major bookstores. There's no bright, glossy cover. In fact, the cover layout looks like a downsized edition of Harvard Business Review. The book includes just eight articles from previous HBR issues. They're not new. But they *are* unique.
The best chapters:
"Courage as a Skill," or "How to decide when and how to speak out." Sometimes you can't afford to keep silent but often you can still keep your job.
"The Right Way to be Fired" offers excellent advice to contrast the tenure mindset with the assignment mindset when thinking of jobs. If you're at a level where you get contracts, they say, think of your contract as a pre-nup and plan for the possibility of divorce or dissolution. They don't add that our infrastructure of health and unemployment benefits are tied to a tenure mindset, even as the corporate world moves to an assignment mindset.
The chapter on resilience includes the fascinating insight that corporate resilience differs from individual resilience; a team of resilient individuals is not the same as a resilient team.
The chapter on story-telling is a gem. I've encouraged my own clients to develop a "spin" on their stories but this chapter goes much further. Telling your story means presenting your background in terms of your new career, without lying or embellishing.
I also liked the chapter on telling your career story and of course Herminia Ibarra's now classic article, "How to Stay Stuck in the Wrong Job." Ibarra's essay has now evolved into one of the best career change books you will find anywhere.
Flaws? The first chapter is a little bland - more of the "same old, same old" about holding your job in a recession while still cultivating a Plan B. In my experience, while these moves may help, often politics and favoritism take over during turbulent times. Additionally, one author encourages readers to review their Myers-Briggs test scores along with their 360 feedback to gain insight. The 360 feedback may be helpful but Myers Briggs doesn't seem much better than astrology. In fact, one article in this book recounts an executive's visit to an astrologer, with results that turned out to be even more accurate than any Myers Briggs would be.
Highly recommended for career coaches and counselors as well as anyone with an interest in career issues, practical or theoretical. Just two or three of these articles will be worth the price of the book.


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Nuts, Bolts, and Jolts: Fundamental Business and Life Lessons You Must Know Review

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(More customer reviews)Moran is a clever and witty writer. He's obviously spent a lot of time in offices and working on computers. If your life involves cubicles, computers, or just spending your days among other people, Nuts, Bolts, and Jolts has information for you, be it in the form of gentle hints about behavior or blunt imperitives of which you might not be aware. I've been around for a while, and some of the book's revelations opened my eyes to possibilities I hadn't thought about.
Business writing, in my experience, is often egotistical ("This is the way I do it) or obtuse. N, B, and J is neither. It's fun to read and astonishingly informative, and much more humanistic than businessy.

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