How to adjust the mentality after retirement is a worldwide problem, and now some people have found business opportunities in it. In the United States, a new profession, "retirement coaching," is rapidly becoming popular. Hiring a retired coach isn't cheap, but there are still a lot of people willing to pay for a better life later in life. It may not be long before the profession emerges in China.
You must have heard your financial advisor talk about the importance of planning your retirement financially early, and maybe you've had enough money ready. But retirement doesn't just mean losing your income and living off the money you saved in the past, it also means a very different life than in the past. Many young people who are burdened by heavy work will have fantasies about retirement decades later, but most people who actually retire will find themselves not getting happier, but confused by sudden changes in social roles and life conditions.
A market to be developed
Major financial institutions are competing to launch a variety of financial products on retirement asset planning, with the slogan "Sound protection planning is the cornerstone of the establishment of retirement plans". While all the spotlights are focused on "retirement financial commodities", not enough attention is paid to the psychological state of retirees.
For most people who have been betting all their efforts on work for a long time, life is like a saddle, representing the horizontal position of work as stable as Taishan, representing the vertical position of life, health, interest, marriage, etc. Therefore, when most retirees are about to retire, they will face great fear and think, "Who is it that I am when I no longer work and take off my business suit?" At the thought of having nothing to do after retirement, sitting in a chair for the next twenty or thirty years waiting for the body to age, as if the planets fall as they age, I am extremely resistant to "retirement".
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 10,000 people in the United States are currently retiring every day, a trend that will continue for nearly 20 years, so more than 30 million people will leave the workforce in the next 10 years. Fortunately, now they have a good candidate for help – retired coaches. New Directions is a Boston-based career consulting firm founded 28 years ago by David Corbett, 76. The company offers a variety of services, one of which is to help retired executives teach them how to adjust themselves when they can no longer manage others.
New Direction's target customers are mainly corporate executives or other professionals over the age of 50 who have an annual income of more than $200,000. They have hosted 2,700 clients, including major league baseball athletes, CEOs, doctors, lawyers, airline executives, and politicians like former Massachusetts Congressman Marty Meehan. Meehan visited New Direction at the age of 45 and thought it benefited him a lot, and he is now the president of the University of Massachusetts at Rowville. New Direction keeps in touch with these clients and allows them to attend regular workshops and lectures.
In 2007, Corbett published his book Portfolio Life, which has led him to become an authority among retired coaches. In his book, Using language that executives can understand, Corbett argues that people should think like they are managing their portfolio of financial assets and think about their lives—like a multiplicity of work, play, study, family, and society—in order to find ways to correct the habit of working with their heads in their heads. And it's the habit of just burying one's head in work that makes successful business people so boring at dinner parties.
"I realized during my time in charge of recruitment that there was a group of people whose number was increasing rapidly, but whose needs were not being met, who were senior people in various fields who asked themselves if they needed or wanted to do another full-time job." Corbett said, "So we borrowed the concept of a financial portfolio. As you get older, you reallocate your resources according to changes in your life, so why not allocate your life combination in the same way?"
Corbett made some reasonable suggestions: for example, it is best to start thinking about how to spend your retirement time as early as possible, even in your twenties and thirties; Another example is to find a way to continue your hobbies. If you don't have time for piano lessons, go to a concert and meet some other music lovers. This will make the little light in your heart always on, and when you retire, it is easier to make it burn. Of course, if everyone follows Corbett's advice, there's no need to find a retired coach.
Find your passion
New Direction found that after the economy entered a downturn, more and more people over the age of 60 were looking for full-time jobs. Changes in demographic characteristics brought about by an ageing population mean that those who are close to the traditional retirement age will continue to work to earn money. In his book The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife, Marc Freedman, a critic who studies baby boomers, describes the future world of countless people who have reached the age of flower armor or rarity to continue to work to support those who have reached their old age.
For others, the desire to continue working is simply their fear of putting down their briefcase and living the kind of life they live by playing golf. Patricia Smith, senior vice president of New Direction, believes that men in particular find it scary to leave a full-time job and go into semi-retirement. "Our older female clients generally don't want to find another full-time job," she says. Men, on the other hand, believe that leaving senior positions means a loss of social status. This can be seen as a failure. What jobs a man does has a lot to do with his social status." She added that for many men, consulting with a career counselor is the only way to give them a similar psychotherapeutic experience.
For retirees, continuing to work is a common desire. "It's just a way to fill their free time with a business activity similar to what they just abandoned." Bob Parsanko of the Cincinnati-based Center for Executive Transitions said, "It's important to find out where everyone's passions lie and what they want in life, and everything else, including the work of the board, should be a byproduct of that."
Patricia Smith rejects the use of the word "retirement", preferring instead to say a career transition to "a range of activities". She believes that less than 80 years old is considered middle age. "Human life expectancy is increasing, and it is found that older people have more time to work, and they may be tired of their current jobs and eager to experience the enthusiasm for work again."
Bonnie Harrison, 63, quit her job in human resources at Corning, an American manufacturer of industrial goods, to work as a pastor at an almshouse. "If you put people in a boring job, they might actually consider playing golf in retirement," he said. But if you give older employees a chance, they'll be able to stay on the job for 20, or even 30 years, with drive."
Some people who had high-paying positions in private companies before retirement are happy to spend their later years "giving back to the community", and they may work in charity or create charitable foundations. Still others will find a job in the nonprofit sector.
For example, an Intel employee went to work at a rehabilitation center in Arizona. Leslye Louie, the program's director, said most of her interns, which is what the project calls participants, "don't think they're about to retire, they're still energetic and want to contribute" The project "examines whether these people are modest during the interview process." Those who work in the public sector worry that those from the private sector may be more arrogant. We made it clear to them that these people are here to learn and share their skills with others."
According to Mike Jones, the company's director at New Direction, 35 to 40 percent of the company's customers are able to find new jobs. The company's current president, Mike Jeans, 65, has worked in marketing, sales and management for 28 years, becoming a client of New Direction in 1992 and joining the company in 2001 as a senior consultant. Now he has become a well-known retired coach.
"When you get rid of the source of stress, which is no longer the financial director of a public company, you don't just jump off that train, but you can also clearly consider your future plans." Genes said.
Let a retired coach help you
Some of the American elite in the workplace have retreated from the workplace to pursue art, rediscovering experiences they hadn't felt for years, or rediscovering the self they never understood at the bottom of their minds. Their newfound hobbies usually come from interests they developed as young, but are later put aside by work and family responsibilities. Rekindling interest may not necessarily be a meal, but it does bring a sense of accomplishment and the opportunity to leave an immortal legacy.
"When you open the door to paying your mortgage, people usually put interests or opportunities aside." William Winn, a psychologist at New Direction, says, "They may have more flexibility and freedom to pursue the art of their past exposure and see it more as an opportunity than just a delusion."
Kirk Citron is not a client of New Direction, but he may be a typical example of a combinatorial approach. A senior manager at an advertising agency in San Francisco, he became famous for his literary passion, writing a striking slogan for Saturn cars in the 1980s. He started his own advertising agency in 1990, and during the period of the site's boom, his company thrived, his company escaped when the dot-com bubble burst, and his savings were enough to retire. In 2002, at the age of 45, he resigned. "I don't know what the next 10 years will look like, but it seems like a more interesting personal option than staying and continuing to work," he said.
Next, at a cocktail party, he was embarrassed by a question asked: "What do you do?" "I said I didn't know either. I'm very resistant to the word 'retirement' – I think I'm in the middle of my career transition." He recalled.
Hitron approached Barbara Waxman, a retired coach in San Francisco. "What kind of job should I look for?" He asked Waxman. Waxman encouraged him to slow down and think more about his passion. Hitron began to seriously experiment with the various writing projects that had been launched earlier.
Today, Hitron has completed several novels, plays, and children's books. He also consulted for the advertising business, edited for a website called The Long News, which provided him with a rare opportunity to speak at TED conferences, helped PBS produce a documentary about Japanese submarines during World War II, and worked for 5 non-profit organizations.
"With Barbara's help, I agreed to give up the idea of having to work for a company and have a business card." He said, "When all goes well, I think I'm the one who took on the mission of the Renaissance." When I'm upset, I'm an art lover." Apparently Hitron was long out of trouble.
The main purpose of retired coaching is to help people adapt professionally to a wide variety of personal and career transitions, including coping with their "post-professional" lives (these people don't like the term retirement). Mike Girns believes that retired coaches work like psychologists. But there is a clear difference between retired coaches and psychologists, retired coaches are more humanistic and humanistic, deeply influenced by positive psychology, the main purpose is to help people live happier lives. In the United States, another difference between retired coaches and psychotherapists is that psychotherapy is covered by medicare (reassurance coverage), while the cost of hiring a retired coach is not covered by medicare.
But change seems to rely more on people's own understanding and actions, so why do customers feel the need to pay tens of thousands of dollars to New Direction? A client of New Direction said, "If I just retired, tried to find a solution on my own, and sat at home writing my resume, I would feel very disappointed. Coming in a new direction is like having a family around to cheer you on, and going through the process has given me an organizational structure. This is helpful for people who are used to the structure of their work."
There is no specification for the industry
American Thomas Leonard is known as the "father of retired coaching", and in his many years as a consultant, he has found that customers need more than data and tables, but more importantly, to make a "life plan". In 1992, Leonard founded the first "Coaching School" and later established a number of retired coaching agencies, including the International Association of Retired Coaches.
No one knows exactly how many retired coaches there are today, although if you Google the term, you get many results, including 2young2retire.com and mynextphase.com (it promises to spend $119 on its self-help site to "reveal deep personal insights" or "retired experts" for coaching for $179 an hour).
Currently, most retired coaches are going it alone, and governments aren't issuing any regulations requiring them to apply for a license, so financial planners, HR specialists, and counselors are all on board. The International Association of Retired Coaches estimates that there are 48,000 retired coaches worldwide. "I was surprised to find that every time I went to a place to speak, a significant proportion of the audience was coaches." Mark Friedman said.
Fees for retired coaches also vary. Listening to a "7 things you need to know before retirement" course by phone costs only $10, six interviews can cost $300,900, and as a leader in the industry, New Direction charges as much as $290,000.
In fact, customers pay Jeans and his colleagues enough to buy a sedan, even though their companies often share some or all of the cost. Once a high-end service agreement is signed, it will become a lifetime customer, and New Direction encourages customers to frequent their elegantly decorated offices near Boston's harbor. Clients can meet with psychologist Bill Win, use a small research library, work in the office, and attend workshops to learn about office techniques previously used by their employees, such as searching with Google, or uploading personal photos on linkedIn. "One client told me, 'I've been using email.'" My secretary printed it out and I took it home to see. ’」
In addition to turning to retired coaches, less affluent Americans can also turn to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). AARP, a nonprofit organization, is the oldest and largest group in the United States to advocate for seniors, with more than 37 million members. In 1947, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired educator in California, founded the National Association of Retired Teachers, the predecessor of the American Association of Retired Teachers. In 1955, the association introduced a life insurance program for its members. In 1958, the American Association of Retirees was officially established. Today, nationwide, the association has more than 37 million members and more than 4,000 chapters, with 6,700 members enrolled every day at its peak. Offices are located in 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The association is headquartered in Washington, D.C., the capital. Anyone over the age of 50, whether working or retiring, recognizes the Statutes of the Association and pays a membership fee of $10 per year. With the aim of helping people achieve their goals and dreams, the association strives to strengthen community functions and advocate for issues such as medical care, employment, and retirement plans that affect most families. The association calls on consumers to choose products and services with the AARP logo in the market and is able to help members obtain discounts on many consumer products, travel products and services. Their magazine, AARP, claims to be the most widely distributed magazine in the world.
January 17 of this year is the birthday of First Lady Michelle Obama, and the next day, Michelle posted a photo on the Internet with the slogan "I am excited to join Barack in my 50s club and come to see my 'AARP card'."
4 ways for people to retire in retirement careers
Retire to start a business
In Managing Oneself, Durac argues that most senior executives reach the pinnacle of their careers at age 45. After 20 years of tempering, absolutely familiar with the work, but in the absence of learning dedication from work, getting challenges or satisfaction, what lies in front of you is exactly the same path as the first half of life for more than twenty years, which is very painful. As a result, many people have embarked on the path of entrepreneurship, and this is becoming more and more popular among the retired population.
Delegated Authority
We certainly understand the reluctance of founders to their careers, but doing it yourself is not the only way to make your business successful. The secret of the success of Bernard Arnault, the richest man in France, lies in being able to gather smart people in the French boutique fashion industry and let them work under the same group, giving them sufficient space to let their brands operate independently without interference, just to grasp the overall direction of the group.
Shareholding
Many people are very eager for emerging markets, but they give up because they can't grasp it, and then they can grasp the pulse of the world economy as long as they use the capital business. You only need to pay a few tens of dollars (or other monetary units) of the unit equity cost, you can enjoy the fruits of the capital and capital operation of the enterprise built in the world, but do not need to bear the cost of the plant and personally recruit talents. By funding, why not get many smart people around the world to work hard for your equity 24 hours a day?
Impart experience
Some of the departing managers are still in their youthful stages and are reluctant to waste their time. They have a certain theoretical foundation in leadership and management, rich experience in practice, and are good at communication, and after training, they will be suitable candidates to become president coaches. Serving as a non-executive director of a company and a member of the expert advisory board is also a place for executives to consider. Their rich management experience and theoretical foundation are undoubtedly a valuable asset for the newcomers.