Chart Your Own Course

Aging workers in a changing workplace at this very moment of such rapid technological change are resulting in bias in the workplace, layoffs, extended job searches and in many cases feeling left behind. Not in all cases obviously, but enough that many of our peers are frustrated.  

This newsletter is my way of sharing what I have learned over the years building businesses as a seasoned worker. 

Let’s dive right in

I sold my last company 2 years ago and joined the buyer to run business development for our new emerging technology products. Within 120 days (about 4 months), nearly the entire leadership team was gone. I was blindsided and yes it was crazy.  

Now what? I ran through the usual steps to get in front of the obvious problem coming my way. 

I talked to my network. ✔️

I hired a resume writer ✔️

I worked with a headhunter ✔️

I identified my dream job and company ✔️

Hell, I even had relationships with senior staff at this company and went through an unusually rigorous interview process. It was not fun. 

So, what happened? Nothing materialized. Not nothing really, but not something either. 

Here I was now at 50 years old and scratching my head. I honestly thought companies would be happy to talk to me after having started and sold two technology businesses since turning 40. Feels a little silly in hindsight. 

The silence and futility of it all got me thinking differently about my next move and put me back in a place where I was going to control my own destiny. Chart my own course if you will. Fortunately, this was familiar territory for me, but it occurred to me that it isn’t familiar territory for everyone. 

So, I began posting about my experience and ageism on Linkedin and something amazing happened. People responded and reached out to me directly. We shared stories and I walked them through my process for carefully planning this phase of my career. We are not alone and so many of us are looking for meaning in our work in a way that suits this moment in our lives and careers. 

So, what’s with the name?

The Map is Not Me is my take on an old mental model The Map is Not the Territory. Coined by mathematician, Alfred Korzbyski in 1931. The idea here is that a map is an abstraction of a physical object and not a true representation of the object itself. Perception is not reality. 

This is a very useful concept in the pursuit of self-discovery and personal reflection. The process of identifying what we will do at this point in our careers can be scary to say the least. Particularly, if our own analysis of our needs, wants and abilities are imperfect at best. At worst, they are outright wrong. I know, it seems strange, but this is a very common problem. One I certainly have. 

There are many ways in which we misread ourselves:

• Distorted self-perception: Our experiences and biases built over time.  

• Limitations inherent within introspection: Blind spots cover the ugly bits. 

• Dynamic nature of self: It can be difficult to clearly see a moving target. 

• Low emotional intelligence toward self: We tend to be hardest on ourselves. 

• Assumptions of the self: We challenge external assumptions daily, but seldom challenge internal assumptions. 

Again, perception is not reality, and we don’t know ourselves particularly well. This sounds terrible, but recognizing this is powerful. Knowledge is power after all and why this newsletter exists. If we are struggling to find meaningful work in a changing workplace with a confusing workforce, then we need to look at the problem differently.  

Personal Operating Principles

This begins by looking inward and for me this begins by building a list of personal operating principles that fit who I am now at this point in my life. What worked for me in my thirties is likely not ideal now in my fifties. Now this is not an exercise in writing an abstract list with no practical application. This should be your roadmap for how you conduct yourself day-to-day. 

• What are my values? 

• What are my goals today? 

• What structure will help me reach my goals? 

• What have I been successful with thus far in my career and personal life? 

• What is my 5-year plan? What does good look like in 5 years? 

• How will I measure the good overall? 

My personal operating principles

These guide everything I do at this stage of my life and are the foundation of my choices and activities. 

Until next time,

Todd

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