A Message From Jeff

In last month’s ezine, we talked about refining and maximizing your personal brand as a way to gain greater control of your career and personal destiny. (Click here to read, if you missed it.) As you’ll read below in my report on career trends in the boomer generation, you’ll want this leverage as you plan for your career evolution. For we boomers are redefining “retirement." We’re driven to create careers and next steps that meet our needs and fit our personal values and passions.

We do that, in part, by listening… not only to others but also to our own inner yearnings. Listening is such an essential skill—80% of executives in a recent survey ranked it as THE most important workplace skill—yet it’s not often valued highly enough in both personal and professional settings.

So, the question of this ezine is: are you listening? Are you hearing us? Are you hearing yourself? And if you are, what are you going to do differently? I hope you enjoy this issue.

Boomers in Career Transition

As a boomer, what do you need to do now to begin planning the next step in your career evolution?

Why is it important for you to start thinking about career evolution now?

The answer is because you don’t want to miss the opportunity to help redefine the meaning of career and retirement after 50. For that’s what the boomer generation is doing: redefiningcareer and retirement in ways that address personal as well as career needs. And that’s what you can do: design your future to meet your needs (and your needs only). How good does that sound? Read the article here.

Effective Listening for Leaders

Training & Development magazine recently published a survey of business executives showing that 80% rated listening as the most important skill in the workplace. That should be no surprise, given that more effective listening is associated with increased morale and retention, higher productivity, and improved performance in sales and customer service—not to mention fewer lawsuits... Read the article here.

Save the Date

Executive Connections cordially invites you to the "CEO Connections Luncheon Series." Thursday, September 21, at the Yale Club in New York City, from noon to 3pm. This year's featured speaker is Tom Harrison, Chairman and CEO of Diversified Agency Services (DAS), the world’s largest holding group of marketing services companies.

Jeff's Recommended Reading

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, by Keith Ferrazzi

Instinct: Tapping Your Entreprenurial DNA to Achieve Your Business Goals, by Thomas L. Harrison and Mary H. Frakes

Organized for Success: Top Executives and CEOs Reveal the Organizing Principles that Helped Them Reach the Top, by Stephanie Winston

Today's Quote

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." —Alvin Toffler

Jeff Gundersen, CEO
Executive Connections, LLC
jgundersen@executiveconnects.com
941-323-8300
Executive Search, Coaching & Consulting
http://www.executiveconnects.com