Part 1 of a two-part series.
Jeri Sedlar and Rick Miners have spent most of their careers helping people find fulfilling work. Now they're showing them how to create rewarding futures once they've retired from their traditional jobs.
Jeri and Rick are the co-authors of the book Don't Retire, Rewire®!: 5 Steps To Fulfilling Work that Fuels Your Passion, Suits Your Personality or Fills Your Pocket! They are Eons experts in the area of "rewirement®," or as they define it, the new way to "do" retirement.
Jeri was formerly editor-at-large of Working Woman magazine, and Rick was president of Goodrich & Sherwood, a global executive search and outplacement firm. In 1993 they wrote their first book, On Target, and in 1994 founded an executive search firm. Rick co-founded FlexCorpSystems, a human resources outsourcing firm, in 2000. He sold the company in 2006. Rick and Jeri now manage Sedlar & Miners, a rewirement® solutions firm.
As a way to introduce Jeri and Rick to our readers, we interviewed them about their work. They will be writing regularly for the Eons Career Center.
How did the idea for Don't Retire, Rewire! come about, and how does it fit in with what you both have been doing throughout your careers?
RICK: During the dotcom era we saw people of all ages contemplating retirement. Many had made a lot of money and thought they were ready for a life of leisure. The key retirement question has always been, "Do you have enough money to retire?" and these people thought they had it under control.
JERI: We asked many what they would do in retirement that would fulfill them. Most had done little or no life planning. They assumed that retirement satisfaction would just occur and had no idea of how much longer we're living now. We saw some disconnects beginning to occur. When people talked about work they mentioned the tough boss, demanding schedule and crazy clients they were leaving behind but never the positive aspects of work that they might miss. That's what led us to write the book.
What are some tell-tale signs that someone is struggling with retirement?
JERI: There isn't just one sign. Some people get bored, then become boring. They lose interest in life; they don't want to try new things. They describe themselves as "puttering around." The tough part is that the person often knows deep down that there's not enough going on in his or her life, but they're not sure how to move on.
RICK: Often truly negative things, which we call "unintended consequences," can occur--anxiety, stress, depression, increased use of alcohol, and marital discord. Real problems.
Why does this happen?
JERI: Two key reasons: first, under planning in terms of how to create a new life of meaningful activities and second, lack of self-knowledge. People don't know themselves and what makes them tick. I recently asked an audience of 185 people, "How many of you know what fulfills you?" Twelve hands went up. As a society we don't do much self-exploration until we're in a crisis or transition. We don't think about why we like or dislike an experience at work until it's gone and we miss it. If you leave a meeting and feel great you should know why. Did you get recognition? Feel valued? Was it because you accomplished something? For most people, when they enter an unstructured life stage without a map, and they flounder.
RICK: The media's depiction of retirement as an endless vacation has lulled people into submission. We're trying to get people to realize what they're giving up when they retire. It's easy to think of the negatives, like the commute or working for a bad boss, but what might not be so clear is the daily community of colleagues and friends, the mental stimulation, even the economic advantages of entertaining clients. The reality is that for some there are two, three, or four months --or even years -- when everything is working well, but then reality hits, and they realize that there are still 20 or 30 years to go...That's why rewirement is such an issue now.
But lack of direction is not the only thing that makes not working hard, right? What about money?
JERI: That's right. We spend a lot and save too little, and people are worried about outliving their money. Plus, there's a real need for older people in the workforce. Demographics show that the 76 million boomers will be retirement-eligible over the next 18 years, but there are only 49 million Gen-Xers to replace them. This gap could have a real impact on workforce productivity.
RICK: Actually, many people want to work in retirement but on their terms. Many want to work part-time or pursue new work not because they have to, but because they want to. Corporations will need to respond to that.
NEXT: What are drivers, and why are they important?