Dear Friends,

Who would have thought we would see such a terrible continuing collapse of the financial services sector? Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. Merrill Lynch is being taken over by Bank of America. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (government-backed agencies) are being bailed out by the government. And AIG and other previously strong financial services companies appear to be next in line to fail. Both corporate and individual investors have lost billions of dollars in their investment portfolios. And we are all left asking, "Who's to blame for this gross financial mismanagement?" Are these the same CEOs who recently retired or were fired and left with huge golden parachutes?

As we transition into fall and approach the end of the 3rd quarter, many of you are planning budgets and strategic plan updates for your businesses in 2009 and beyond. With the economy staggering from the latest financial debacles, most analysts expect this current recession to last at least through mid-year 2009. This makes planning for our businesses even more challenging than in prior years.

Others of you are in career transition and pursuing or deciding among new career directions and opportunities. This is an especially important time for careful planning since the economic and financial changes are impacting businesses both large and small across virtually every industry sector.

You hear us speak so much about transition support, and our article this month is "Job Transition: Why the First Few Months Are So Critical." Especially now, with all the turmoil and uncertainty we are seeing in various industry sectors, transition planning is essential to managing everyone's, (including your own) expectations during the first 90-180 days of an executive transition, the highest risk period. Considering that many of today's career changes include relocation of the family, transition plans need to include both professional, as well as personal, transition elements.

So whether you are running a business and hiring/assimilating new executive talent, or you are the executive in transition starting a new position, it is critical to your success to plan and manage these transitions so they are "set up in advance for success."

As a result of our "blended solutions" model, which we launched six years ago, we live in the world of career transition on a daily basis. We personally coach every executive we place for the first six months of his or her new position. Occasionally, I am stunned by the pushback we get from clients and placed candidates who initially resist preparing a written transition plan with milestone dates, specific measurable goals/deliverables and identification of key resources/sponsors/mentors to assist in supporting various elements of the transition process.

We use the analogy of flying an airplane. Would you think a responsible pilot would leave from an airport without a compass and a flight plan? Wouldn't this option be equivalent to flying blind? Think about the implications of trying to approach your career transition on this type of haphazard basis. If you are not establishing and managing people's expectations from the outset (and even before your start date), how will you be certain of your ability to meet and exceed them? Unless you start out in sync with your boss, and stay in sync through the early stages of the transition process, how do you expect to build trust and credibility with the boss and other key stakeholders?

With the economy in a recession, at least in certain sectors, once you determine your next career direction, a detailed, pro-active plan is the best way to assure you have addressed all key issues. Plus, it enables you to prioritize how you will address them, which will help set the expectations of senior management, as well as the staff/organization you are inheriting.

We work with and provide candidates the process, one-to-one support and templates for this planning, along with samples from executive search assignments that were successful due to this process. This process typically raises additional questions and issues that will help the candidate and client quickly address certain key strategic business issues. It helps to foster alignment.

Have you recently experienced a successful career transition? Please write and share your best practices, lessons learned and the key factors that impacted your success.

What types of transition are you currently experiencing? What challenges are you facing related to a recent career change or a new position within your existing company? Please connect with us and share your experience.

As always, we value your input and look forward to connecting with you.

All the best,

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

Job Transition: Why the First Few Months Are Critical

Congratulations! After great effort and focused energy, you've finally landed a fabulous new position--one that is sure to advance your career and meet your work and personal goals in a way your old position never could.

But don't stop there. Getting hired is just the first step.

You'll need to spend as much effort and energy, and maybe more, preparing for and making the transition. And this is where it really counts, for the first three to six months in any new position is a period of extreme vulnerability.

It's the highest-risk period, and the higher up you are, the riskier it is.

During this transitional period, everyone in your new company--boss, direct-reports, other employees--and even suppliers and customers are all forming initial impressions that will shape their expectations and actions. This dynamic is exacerbated when people in your new company expect you to bring about change within the organization. Read full article.

The EC Talent Alert! service offers our select executive coaching clients in career transition the vast resources of the Executive Connections team to explore a range of new opportunities.

Rising Young Star: Bianca Church

Every year, the Talent Alert Division of Executive Connections LLC selects and coaches--pro-bono--one or two "Rising Young Stars" and then presents them to you, our connections, for your consideration--at no cost to you!

These are talented, motivated, entry-level future leaders you will be eager to consider. Working with them is part of our ongoing commitment to coaching individuals who will make a difference and to providing you with the opportunity to have these young leaders "pre-screened and buffed."

Today, we are pleased to introduce you to Bianca Church, one of this year's "Rising Young Stars."

Bianca is seeking a full-time entry-level position with a creative, team-oriented organization in NYC, where people are motivated and passionate about their work and enjoy the culture of the company.

To learn more about Bianca, click here.

As part of our commitment to provide assistance and support to executives wanting to further their professional and personal brand, we have created the ,b>ASK OUR COACH email service where you can get confidential answers to your career questions. What's on your mind? Don't hesitate to ASK OUR COACH. Below is our answer to a question we received last month.

As an ex-pat who has been away from the U.S. most of my career, I am feeling a bit lost since I have been out of touch and not kept up my personal connections with search consultants and other marketing contacts. How do I go about organizing a personal search? I think it's time to check my other options.
~Unwanted & Disconnected Ex-pat

Dear Unwanted & Disconnected Ex-pat:

Seems that you are disconnected in more ways than one, and your company's sudden change of ex-pat policy has finally gotten you to raise your head up from the desk and ask yourself some important questions.

You have an opportunity to view this as a healthy time to take stock of where you are and what your true potential is (here or somewhere else), and to set some specific career goals for the next five to seven years. You are approaching the prime of your career, and these next five to seven years will be the pivotal ones in determining whether you attain your top career goal, as it would be harder to make a move five years from now.

We recommend you take total inventory and immediately launch a 360 review of key former bosses, peers and subordinates to get real feedback on how others view you as a person and your performance potential. Unless you look outside now and decide whether it is best for you to stay or go, you are likely to stay another couple of years longer and water down your personal brand in this company, without knowing whether they are committed to helping you achieve your long-term goals and ongoing wealth creation.

Now is the time to make smart choices. It's the time for straight talk everywhere. It's the time for becoming aware of how you view yourself and how others view your future potential. And it's the time to guide your personal brand to the most exciting future career direction, even if it means a change of category or company.

Bottom Line: It is time to re-evaluate where you are vs. where you want to be. Put your helmet and seat belt on, create the direction and road map for your next move, and step on the gas!

P.S. Make a solemn oath to yourself that you will continue to expand your contacts and build your personal brand by staying connected, no matter what role you are in or where you are!

September 18, 2008
Growth in Challenging Times
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October 11, 2008
DMA08 Conference & Exhibition
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October 19, 2008
6th Annual Financial Services Marketing Symposium
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If you would like to reprint this article in your ezine, blog or website, you have our permission to do so as long as it is accompanied by the following information:

Authors Jeff Gundersen and Lorraine White lead the team at Executive Connections LLC, an executive search and executive coaching and consulting firm, specializing in building and supporting powerful executive leaders in advertising, marketing communications, direct marketing/CRM/loyalty, digital marketing/e-commerce, financial services, healthcare and private equity financed companies.

Author's content used under license, © 2010 Executive Connections LLC