Change Masters Incorporated - The Blog
World class coaching delivered around the world™
So much of authentic executive presence is showing the durability and adaptability to change with the times.Fun Fact: The average company’s life span these days is only 20 years. I am proud to work for Change Masters, a company which lives those skills every day – and it’s now entering its 31st year! We beat the odds!
Carol Keers Tip
When my father was 60, he referred to himself as being “middle-aged”. His friend asked him, “How many people do you know who are 120?”
Minnesota Orchestra Conductor Laureate Stanislaw Skrowaczewski was born in Poland 93 years ago. He started playing piano at age 4. He loved playing music until he was injured by a bomb during World War II. He became a conductor in Warsaw and Cleveland before he took over the Minneapolis Symphony in 1960. A few months ago we heard him conduct the Minnesota Orchestra with such gusto that it was hard to believe he was 93 years-old. His love for the music was clear. One non-stop performance was 80 minutes long without using the written score. Last year he conducted in over a dozen countries. So how old was Skrowaczewski? Sadly, he died last month. He fully lived all of his 93 years.
There are numerous studies that all point to being engaged in something you find worthwhile (for pay or not) significantly improves our happiness and our health. I feel blessed to feel that way about what I do. Most of my “work” gives me energy, even though I am well past what many think is retirement age. See my blog Build your Return on Life (ROL) from 2014 about Mitch Anthony’s book “The New Retirementality” that challenges the concept of a retirement age as a leftover concept from the Industrial Revolution.
I do not advocate that people should not retire because I have not done so. There are many people who have sacrificed enormously to build their career and feed their families. They have traveled extensively, or in other ways, sacrificed family time to do work that is not all that satisfying any more. Finding a way to remove from your life what is draining and add things that are nourishing is a wonderful endeavor. I know many who have focused on their grandchildren to recapture what they lost with their own children’s growing years. That is a fabulous opportunity to recover. Others have found the artist inside them during their retirement, like President George W. Bush.
My misconception of how a grandfather should feel is very apparent to me. Looking at the photo of the man looking in the mirror pretty well captures the gap. I feel like the younger man, and the mirror reflects an older man. I expected to feel like the older man in my 70’s, but I don’t… most of the time.
I know many who think their 60’s and 70’s are the best years of their lives. Maybe the 80’s too …. I just have not asked enough people in their 80’s. That was not my expectation when I was in my 30’s. That was not how I saw my grandfather in his 70’s.
Many would say, “Not on your life!” and others would find community, contribution and maybe purpose, if they were able to continue to work. Warren Buffet continues to make good investments in his 80’s. The Supreme Court is filled with senior citizens. Many cultures honor the wisdom of age more than the US culture.
There are definitely limitations brought on by aging. There are also strengths that build with continued age. I was blessed with a grandmother who was young at heart and willing to share honest wisdom such as, “Those who talk about the ‘good old days’ have bad memories. It was not all good.”
The companies who can overcome unfounded age discrimination and also make adjustments, where appropriate, to work rules will have a competitive advantage in many industries.
We are excited to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Change Masters. Our initial mission was to help companies create workplaces suitable for the founder’s daughters to work in when they entered the workforce. Tom Mungavan helped companies and executive teams implement pragmatic organizational change.
Facing the challenges of well-intentioned individual leaders who needed to personally change to make the new culture work effectively, Tom contracted with Carol Keers to provide video coaching. Carol was hired full-time in 1988 and Change Masters grew to embrace both group and individual change. We are now serving more than 25 of the Top Fortune 100 companies around the world. There is much to celebrate!
We are looking forward to celebrating this year. We are honored by the many loyal clients and supporters over our 30 years. We are looking forward to reconnecting with many of them. We are excited about the new products that are moving successfully through our pilot testing.
Improved remote communication is one area we are very excited about. Communicating and leading teams that are not face-to-face is becoming more important and more challenging. “Creating a 3D personality on a 2D screen” (for video conferencing) is one product that builds on our strengths and history.
Coaching that is focused on technologists and other technical fields will be expanded this year. That area has always been a strength for Change Masters. Our newest product is more targeted, more cost effective, and is getting excellent results in our pilot tests.
The Change Masters Academy online learning will be launching “The Sport of Business” in 2016. It is a very entertaining and educational video series for both those who love sports and those who do not (but need to talk to people who love sports).
Our blog posts you may be interested in:
Five Million views of the TED.com video by Brother David Steindl-Rast, an 89 year-old Benedictine monk addresses the universal desire to be happy. He shows how we can choose to be grateful in the moment even when feeling challenged and rushed. He is widely embraced by a wide range of people around the world for is wisdom and hope for a more grateful world where people are more connected and appreciative.
What struck me is how his wise and simple advice is so fitting for the many people I know who feel highly challenged if not reaching the level of overwhelmed. [more …]
I enjoy the fact that my clients are smart and accomplished. We have an 
Intelligent Impatient Personality Profile™ (IIPP) that describes many of our clients. School places a disproportionate emphasis on intelligence. Leadership places a much higher emphasis on emotional competence. Leading with intellect … [more …]
At Change Masters, we break authenticity into two aspects – interior and exterior. Most people consider them separate entities, but it’s essential that both be intertwined in order to be successfully authentic.
We believe that the interior aspects of authenticity are around the choices you make and how they align with your highest beliefs. Exterior authenticity is about showing the type of the behaviors which allow others to accurately perceive what you mean, understand your intent, believe, follow or trust you.
To clarify this concept, we’ve put the attributes of interior authenticity from Bill George into three categories … [more …]
Mobile phones have significantly changed how we function and interact. One function that is used more by teenagers than adults maybe helpful to you. When sending text messages using iMessage (the normal Apple text messages), you can easily respond to a request for your location that makes it easy for the other person to find you using the Map application. Yes, that means they can get directions to you from where they are located. [more ...]
We wish you a very healthy and prosperous 2016! I hope you are looking forward to the year ahead as much as we are!
Your feedback and questions are always welcome. You can reply to this email.