80K Hour Clock ON Purpose!

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Mark Myette, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

Thank you for continuing the “ON Purpose” blog series dedicated to ALL whom are on quest to find meaning, purpose and are at a loss…may this blog be a resource to you and your quest for meaning.

- The first blog introduced us to the series: Fill-In-The-Blank…ON Purpose
- The second blog went deep and set the stage for a fruitful life: Life…ON Purpose!
- This blog takes a turn toward our careers and delves – in more detail – into the 80000 hour career journey.
- In our next blog, I’ll address how to use this understanding about “Career Clock Management” to have a fulfilling career for 80000 hours!

I hope you continue to enjoy…

Please note: if this topic category – Career Management – and the navigation of the 80000 hour career journey is in your sights, these other blogs may also serve as a reference:

- Maslow & the 80000 Hour Career Journey…
- Career Clock Management According to Belichick…
- Making a Case for Career Polygamy…
- Gladwell’s 10K-Hour Rule & Our 80K Hour Career…
- How did I get here?
- A Calling VS A Job…
- 5 Steps to Make Work…Not Work!
- Your Route to Empowerment…
- From Setback to Success…
- Pressing the Reset Button…
- Life…ON Purpose!

So, Why This Blog?

So, why another blog on career management in light of the previous blogs above? Simply put, more specifics need to be provided for additional context and the 80000 hour career journey. We need to navigate our careers in an INTENTIONAL way, or, as I like to say “ON Purpose”. After all, if you don’t, no one else will!

And Before We Get Too Far Ahead of Ourselves, What Is Career Management? Career Management involves the CONTINUOUS process of:

- Learning / Mapping your gifts, interests, values, skills, talents and preferences in your career;
- Exploring life, work, learning, coaching options available to you;
- Ensuring YOUR work fits with your personal circumstances;
- Fine-tuning / adjusting YOUR work and learning plans to help you manage the changes in your life and the world of work; and
- Maximizing YOU for the duration of your career.

Now, What’s This About “Quarters”?

So what’s the 80000 hour career journey as defined by “quarters”? By doing the math – in the simplest form it is – 50 weeks X 40 hours = 2000 hours per year. 2000 X 10 (years) = 20000. 20000 X 4 quarters = 80000 hours…

I get that people may work more than 40 hours per week (God know I have!)…so, the 80000 hours is a MINIMUM guidepost. So, back to the quarters…much like a game clock on the U.S. football field, we need to manage our own career clocks in a specific way as well! SEE: Career Clock Management According to Belichick…

A Quarter-by-Quarter Breakdown..

PRE-Season

“Where there is preparation. There is no fear.” Hwang Kee

Age Range – High School – College

General Characteristic (s) – Bewilderment / confusion / ambiguity

Objective – Learn about oneself / possibilities!

This quote sums up the benefits of discovery (good and bad), learning about yourself, others, and the world – well, as much as you can in high school and college. This period is when YOU begin to realize YOU need to zero in on “What you want to do when you grow up?” No doubt, this period can be daunting, yet, you survive. The REAL opportunity is to begin to understand YOU, others, the world, and your place in it.

This period also comes with a sense of bewilderment – it’s as if you’re staring at a Summer’s cloudless night sky and seeing the vast array of stars and wondering “Which star do I hitch my wagon?”, or, in the case of career management – of 1166 occupations currently tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics – “Which occupation should I go after?”

Here are some college student stats:

25% of college freshmen drop out of school;
60% of college grads have transferred schools;
80% of freshman do not declare a major; and
50% change majors after a major is declared.

Additional context..when asked “What is the main reason you chose your career?” as captured by Ferris State University:

32% – Something I like;
21% – Something I’m good at;
13% – I’ve always been interested in it; and
11% – I want to help people.

Takeaway for PRE-Season: HOPEFULLY, as you prepare to enter the workforce, post college, you achieved some clarity / focus by “tuning into” your: gifts; talents; emerging strengths, interests AND practicality (education / income / professional stability) as opposed to starting the 80000 hour career journey based mainly on INTEREST.

Q1

“Remember, while traveling the road to success, it’s OK to get lost along the way.” Anonymous

Age Range – Early – Mid 20’s – Early – Mid 30’s

General Characteristic (s) – Just Out of College, Vocational School and Doing an “Adult Job”…

Objective – Start a career! / possibilities!

This quarter is full of promise, excitement at “escaping the gravitational pull” of the high school, college, and the influence of home. It’s also about hitching your wagon to a single “occupation star”…as a result, you now potentially run the risk of being “professionally typecast” or “pigeon holed” in one line of work…

How Does it happen? Let’s Meet Amy…

Amy graduates college with a 4 year Communications degree. She could land a spot in the workforce in any number of fields related to her major. (If her degree were a bit more specialized, her career options would be more clearly identified.)

Amy looks for her first post-collegiate job for months and ends up getting an entry-level position as a Customer Service Representative with a telecom provider. In her role, she does well and continually gets more responsibility and promotions.

While in her team lead role, Amy gets approached by a recruiter sourcing for a managerial position at another telecom company making ~15% more. She takes it!

While her job continues on an upward track, she dates someone. Gets serious. Gets married. Starts accumulating “stuff”. Buys a house. Starts a family! In other words, things are getting more complicated than when Amy finished college. Which is why she bites her lip and forges on.

What was once an interest – based decision to choose a major – in this case Communications – has led to a situation where Amy feels “professionally typecast” in her managerial role in Customer Service. What makes things worse is she’s not engaged. Remember the ~70% of disengaged employees? (Gallup)

So, Amy starts envisioning a job or career change. But wait! She now has more responsibilities – a family – a mortgage – stuff! Choosing an option appears to be more limiting because that choice now needs to have a high degree of practicality to it. In other words, it “needs” to support her lifestyle, income, and wealth accumulation / preservation goals.

Perhaps, if Amy had a chance to do it all over again, chances are she probably would! (Age and experience can do that!) She might have decided her career course based on a combination of: interest; skill; AND practicality.

The Lucky Ones…

For the lucky ones, they may be able to pivot! Some may have great transferable skills and become REALLY good at the solving problems. As long as they keep their skills up and solving the problems, they stay hired! Until…the job/role is no longer gratifying and they feel “empty”, become dis-engaged, check-out, and move on…

Perhaps they have a TRUE calling they now want to pursue…crazy? “Too young?” NOPE!

There are numerous examples of the Q1 pivots where people eventually followed their “calling”! The opportunity is to listen and figure out ours!

Some of the Famous “Called” During Their Q1:

Andrea Bocelli– at the age of 30 he spent a year as an attorney. Left law and starting singing full time.
Martha Stewart – a stockbroker. In her early 30’s she and her husband bought and began restoration on an 1805 farmhouse…
Harrison Ford – a self taught carpenter in his 30’s – turned actor.
James Joyce – singing. By 30, Joyce was writing…just not getting published. So to make ends meet he reviewed books, taught and, made a lot of money thanks to his singing. Then his writing took off!
Mao Tse-Tung – elementary school principal. At age 30, Mao was involved in communism…he was a young star of the Chinese Communist Party…but didn’t realize it could be a career.
Brenden Gleeson – considered Ireland’s greatest living actor, 34 when he kicked the day job to become an actor.

Everyday People:

Patti – worked for a major pharmaceutical company for 9 years in various HR functions. She left and turned her hobby into a business: Patti Cake Bakers.
Maura – finished art school when she says she “wasn’t mature enough to realize that I controlled my own destiny.” She took corporate jobs, which helped pay the bills – she was laid off. She saw the unemployment as a silver lining and started her own business, Majäbra Creative Partners.
Darrin – “took a job” to pay the bills and was soon fired because he was not suited for his role. He taught himself HTML, developed a website for the company he worked for, and began freelancing. He’d done genealogy as a hobby for a while and developed a revolutionary new way to host family trees on the internet. He wrote The Next Generation, which became the “Cadillac” of online genealogy software.

Takeaway for Q1: It’s not unusual for someone to “adjust their sails” during Q1 – matter-of-fact – you should expect it, or rather, not be distressed by the desire to change…and “tuning in” on your: gifts; talents; emerging strengths, interests AND balancing it with practicality (education / income / professional stability).

Q2

“You can quit your job, you can’t quit your calling.” Lissa Rankin

Age Range – Early – Mid 30’s – Mid 40’s

General Characteristic (s) – Settled – Getting Bored. Pivot? Calling?

Objective – Enhance / thrive in a career / possibilities!

Q2 is when you might thrive in your role. You are running on all cylinders.

OR

You might experience being “rejected” or fired for the first time.

OR

For some, they take longer to “listen to the wind chimes” and eventually follow their “calling”! As previous, the opportunity is to listen and figure out ours!

Some of the Famous “Called” During Their Q2:

Julia Child – a copywriter, writing for local publications, and in advertising. At 36, attended the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris…
Robin Chase – had left an early 40’s birthday and career in the rear-view mirror and was taking time off from work to be with her children when she and a friend, Antje Danielson, came up with the idea for the car-sharing company in 2000, Zipcar.
Tim and Nina Zagat – husband and wife team had each turned 42 before they gave up their legal careers to write their first restaurant guides. Their eponymous company is part of Google now.
Jack Weil – 45 when he founded what became the most popular cowboy-wear brand, Rockmount Ranch Wear.

Takeaway for Q2: This phase of your journey is all about maximizing your capabilities and that does not necessarily mean “make the most money” although that might be an outcome…this is when the dynamic of “What’s Your Why?” kicks in…be open to your calling!

For more SEE: Pressing the Reset Button…

Q3

Nothing will prevent you from making a pivot or gathering up your courage to follow your calling – except YOU! Mark Myette

Age Range – Early – Mid 40’s – Early – Mid 50’s

General Characteristic (s) – BEYOND Settled – Down-Right-Antsy to do Something Else. Pivot? Calling?

Objective – Survive and/or thrive in a career, or, move on AND possibilities!

It’s not unusual employees, in their third quarter, will be “transitioned out”. Perhaps given a severance package…and given a “gift” to re-discover themselves and continue moving forward!

OR

Q3 is when an employee doing a particular craft or professional reach their wits end and decide they want to do something else. SOMETIMES something very different! A completely different career!

The opportunity will be for employees looking to make that pivot do so with an OPEN MIND, and be RECEPTIVE to feedback to help them understand how their “professional pedigree” will lend itself to a legitimate “pivot”.

The Art of the Pivot…

What to consider when making a pivot:

Similarity: the potential move should be in the similar “orbit” or to put it a different way, the same “swimming pool”. Not necessarily in the same industry but the knowledge, skill, ability should able transferable.

Examples of a Legitimate Pivots…

…department store manager to restaurant manager.

…programmer to IT project manager.

…executive to business owner.

Examples of a More Challenged Pivots…

…marketing profession to a highly technical profession such a coding…WITHOUT having to go back to school.

…attorney to accountant.

…plumber to engineer.

Pivots CAN happen and they do ALL the time – you just need to be able to “connect-the-dots” to make the pivot a reality.

Some of the Famous “Pivots” During Their Q3:

Rodney Dangerfield – 46 before he got his first big break—on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Samuel Jackson – 46 years old (and in recovery from addiction to cocaine and heroin) before he starred alongside John Travolta in Pulp Fiction.
Momofuku Ando – cemented his spot in junk food history when he invented instant ramen at age 48 in 1958.
Jack Cover – worked as a scientist for institutions like NASA and IBM before he became a successful entrepreneur at 50 for inventing the taser gun.
Ray Kroc – a salesman who passed his 50th birthday before he bought the first McDonald’s in 1961, which he ultimately expanded into a worldwide conglomerate.
Taikichiro Mori – academic who became a real estate investor at age 51 when he founded Mori Building Company. He became the richest man in the world in 1992, when he had a net worth of $13 billion.

Takeaway for Q3: Be open to a career “pivot” that has a high degree of “transferability” (i.e. the knowledge, skill, ability should able transferable.)

For more SEE: Life…ON Purpose in 7 Steps!

Q4

“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous in the end.” Robin Sharma

Age Range – Early – Mid 50’s – Early – Mid 60’s

General Characteristic (s) – A MAJOR TRANSITION. Pivot? Settle Into an Encore career? Calling?

Objective – Finish strong in YOUR terms / possibilities!

This is the part of your career journey where you see the on-coming lights – the END of the career tunnel – IF you are in a JOB. However, this could also be the quarter where you focus ON your calling! If that’s the case, the JOB does not exist…after all, you’re following your calling! Many times, the calling will be something you’ll do till the day you die! SEE: A Calling VS A Job…

What if I’m not interested in following my calling?

If not interested in following your calling, be GREAT at what you do and be prepared to continue in your job! Please be one of the 3 in 10 whom are engaged in their work! (Gallup)

Takeaway for Q4: A Calling VS A Job…what will it be? A job is fine…a calling, on the other hand…

Overtime

“Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s about leaving something in people.” Peter Strople

Age Range – Mid 60’s – ?

General Characteristic (s) – Wildcard – YOU choose how you will ride out your legacy

Objective – Ride off in YOUR terms.

If you’ve already “leaned in” on your gifts and/or calling and you managed your previous quarters well, you’ll have the luxury to choose how you’ll ride out your legacy. This should be THE time when you are “living in” on your calling and you and those you serve will enjoy the fruit of your labor and gifts. That’s the ideal!

The reality also points toward a number of people who decide (OR, have to) to work longer. Or, they may not be ready to retire…

The 10 Professions With the Most Workers Age 66 or Older

According to data from a recent Gallup poll, in 2014, 39% of Americans were working full time or looking for a full time position. In 2017 the number is closer to 19% (but expected to go up.) Here’s how the professions stack up:

10. Dentists – 9.7%

9. Taxi drivers / chauffeurs – 10%

8. Musicians, singers, and related workers – 10.9%

7. Hair stylists – 11.3%

6. Psychologists – 11.7%

5. Real estate brokers / agents – 11.7%

4. Bus and ambulance drivers / attendants – 12.6%

3. Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers – 12.7%

2. Clergy – 13.6%

1. Tax preparers – 14.2%

Source: Time Inc.

You choose! Full fledged retirement? Or, a hybrid that allows you to focus on your interests, hobbies and calling!

Regardless of how you decide to spend your “Overtime”, it will have THREE phases:Go-Go! – so much to do…so little time!
Slow-Go! – let’s be selective!
No-Go! – been there / done that!
Enjoy the ride, you deserve it!

Takeaway for Overtime: This is a Wildcard do as you like!

Call to Action!

- Overall – Take CONTROL of actively manage your 4 Quarter Career Management clock ON purpose – including PRE-Season and Overtime!
- PRE-Season – prepare to enter the workforce, post college, and achieve clarity / focus by “tuning into” your: gifts; talents; emerging strengths, interests AND practicality (education / income / professional stability).
- Q1 – “tuning in” on your: gifts; talents; emerging strengths, interests AND balancing it with practicality (education / income / professional stability).
- Q2 – maximizing your capabilities does not necessarily mean “make the most money” although that might be an outcome…this is when the dynamic of “What’s Your Why?” kicks in…be open to your calling!
- Q3 – Be open to a career “pivot” that has a high degree of “transferability” (i.e. the knowledge, skill, ability should able transferable.)
- Q4 – A job is fine…a calling, on the other hand…
- Overtime – if you have the luxury, treat it as a Wildcard do as you like!

Other “On Purpose” Blogs!

- Fill-In-The-Blank…ON Purpose
- Life…ON Purpose!

My best in your quest.

Mark

I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

www.WhatAreYourGifts.com