Moving on to a portfolio life
Moving on
...to a portfolio life
...to a portfolio life
Author: Philip Beddows, Partner, The Silk Road Partnership
July 2012
An original and shorter version of this article was published in The Boardroom Magazine: September 2007. This more recent contribution to the topic was written in 2012
A personal
business / career plan is as important as a business strategy for
director-level executives, says Philip Beddows
No
senior boardroom executive gets through his or her career without having
written, implemented and overseen a business plan or corporate strategy.
However, I have yet to meet one who has as clearly a defined strategy for their
career as they have for their business.
Some
may say, why should this matter – the only personal strategy a senior person
should need is to over-deliver against the shareholders’ expectations on the
bottom line? However the rapid pace of Corporate life means that CEOs, along
with other senior executives, are moved on and off the chessboard with greater
frequency, and sometimes rather abruptly, often driven by the dynamics of
mergers, takeovers, changes in strategy or changes that bring restructuring.
Some may find that the cap no longer fits and the anticipated promotion
prospects unexpectedly disappear.
Headhunters
Many
senior executives often turn to headhunters first when faced with a career
crossroads, not fully appreciating that headhunters exist to work for their
corporate clients not individual candidates, and very often they have no
suitable mandates. An approach to a headhunter that yields nothing can be
demoralising.
An
approach by headhunters or others to take on a particular role can be very
flattering. But the trouble with this is that one can be too easily caught by
those who have many ideas about what they want you to do, without having
considered what you really want to do; and you end up responding in a reactive
rather than a proactive way.
Mission
- Plan - Proposition - Action
Faced
with this range of challenges, the truth is that the lack of a personal action
plan can leave many executives unprepared for career change. As in business, no
mission, no plan, no focus, no results. The development of a personal business
plan, for “Me Enterprises Plc” can help focus on working proactively to achieve
specific life and career objectives; after all, that is the entity that each of
us has really been driving all our working lives. Whatever brand we associate
with during our careers, it is our own life’s enterprise that is the lasting
common thread and our own stakeholders and shareholders, be they family or
other, who we answer to at the end of each payday.
A
personal plan needs to be built around a sense of self-understanding and a
clear sense of one’s purpose, motivations and preferences. The insightful words
which travellers to the Delphic oracle in ancient Greece used to see inscribed
in the Temple of Apollo: “Know Thyself,” are still relevant to us all today.
Added to this, one needs to consider what roles most appeal, which sectors,
contexts, people and culture suit you best and will allow you to bring out the
very best of your self and your talents. Looking beyond the obvious is also
worth doing – explore different options; even those that may not seem
immediately appealing will, once looked at, provide insight into others. Most
important is likely to be the idea of setting ‘life goals’, which can act as
milestones to map the way ahead.
Useful
questions to ask yourself are: “do I have the requisite skills” for a specific
or generic role that is being sought, and “what knowledge gaps exist” that
should be closed by study or training - a good example for aspiring
non-executives is a through understanding of corporate governance in a chosen
jurisdiction.
Like
any corporate business, “Me Enterprises” has a compelling proposition that
needs to be marketed. As CEO of your own enterprise, you will need to
understand the needs of the buyers in your target market, and be able to
articulate clearly your personal USPs and how your enterprise can add value.
These messages, along with anecdotal evidence, should all be presented
effectively in a good CV.
Launch
& the value of a ‘sticky message’
The
next key step is to get out into the market. A critical skill and activity to
begin this stage of the journey is Networking - a word that unnecessarily puts
off too many people, who don’t realise just how easily they will take to it. It
is a means to soft-launch and market-test one’s plan, as well as drive it to
ultimate success. Networking within one’s own narrow hinterland will not be
enough - the net must be cast widely and include an eclectic mix of people that
connect one to a more varied mix of adjoining landscapes and markets.
Headhunters are just one of the groups of people it may be helpful or necessary
to engage with; professional advisors are another, as are university/college
alumni, old colleagues, friends, clients and other acquaintances. The objective
will be to leave “Sticky Messages” (to use a phrase taken up by Malcolm
Gladwin) about your proposition, value and objective(s) in the minds of your
network that will radiate out from each one of them quickly and easily.
Even
in this internet age, one will still find a variety of potentially appropriate
and interesting roles being advertised in the appointments pages of newspapers
like The Sunday Times, The Financial News and The Guardian. Most, if not all of
these now appear in the online editions. The web, including job-sites and the
pages of headhunting firms also display a myriad of roles around the world. If
public sector, quasi-public or not-for-profit appointments are of interest,
then pretty much all of these will be found advertised in one way or another.
After
identifying an interesting role, and having applied successfully and been
shortlisted, interviews will have to be prepared for. If this is an activity
that an individual hasn’t been exposed to for a long time, then particularly
careful and focused preparation will be required. Even if one has had bags of
experience with interviews, prior-preparation is essential, just as it is for
any major performance or presentation. Interviews may involve one, or more
people or even a formal panel format.
Value
of a mentor
It
can sometimes appear that senior executives, including those at board level,
transition from one role to the next working on their own without taking advice
from anyone else, but the truth is that most will have a mentor or coach
working discreetly with them behind the scenes, helping them to seek out and
find the next rewarding role. Mentors or appropriately experienced coaches can
be invaluable in providing a sounding board and wise guidance to people, whilst
at the same time challenging assumptions and enhancing and broadening the
network. Many very successful people are able to point to such people as
having been a valuable ingredient in the achievement of career success.
An
independent and objective advisor can help people when they are considering
roles in areas that are unfamiliar or new to them. Some advisors and network
contacts can provide valuable perspectives into a specific sector or honest
feedback on suitability, and even valuable contacts to help forge a path
towards an identified objective, or as connections to fresh networks that could
be valuable.
Going
‘plural’ - constructing a portfolio
The
time will always arrive for each senior executive to ponder retirement or a
shift to a portfolio career. Some may well meet with the moment of ‘retirement’
from full-time corporate life more suddenly or somewhat earlier than they may
have planned. Changes in life expectancy mean that the mid-50 year old and
those into their 60s and 70s are, on average, much fitter and more healthy than
their predecessors, and have the energy and desire to continue to be
commercially active or otherwise engaged, either in a single role or with
plural appointments. On top of demographic changes, pension valuations may mean
that some executives are compelled to work to a older age, or at least top-up
their pension if they wish to sustain the lifestyle they have been used to or,
in some cases, to support a young family.
The
days of the previously archetypical male executive retiring from the top with
the idea of improving a golf handicap alongside ‘a couple of non-executive
directorships’ are long gone. The role of a non-executive director (‘NED’) is a
serious commercial and legal undertaking, and needs focus and commitment. Golf
may have to wait! So, to achieve a transition to a portfolio or plural life of
non-executive and other appointments, one needs a plan, just as one does when
making moves at the mid-career point.
For
those moving on from mainstream roles, the range of portfolio opportunities
continues to expand, as do alternative full-time options, for example: interim
management, or the establishment of an individual’s enterprise, which for some
may centre around a personal passion, or even private equity or other
investment. Compared with years gone by, countless opportunities exist for
those who wish to go ‘plural’. Examples include: pro-bono or charitable work,
public service roles such as on the boards of local health trusts, appointments
as a non-executive director, consulting roles, advisory board appointments, and
opportunities to become an active (or angel) investor in start-up or
established business.
There’s
no doubt that it can be genuinely exciting to be in the flow of actively
exploring the broad range of possibilities that might exist, and one
experiences the way in which the game plan can evolve in a myriad of
fascinating ways.
However,
when moving from full-time mainstream existence to a plural career lifestyle,
it can be wise to keep a couple of things uppermost in mind: do not forget to
make time for family and pleasurable leisure activities, some of which hard
driving CEOs, corporate lawyers or investment bankers (for example) may have
missed or neglected in earlier years. Don’t return to overload - it is all to
easy to end up filling days with new pro-bono and commercial appointments and
end up busier than ever, and certainly more than was ever intended!
Creating
the future takes focus and time
Many
clients, after getting fully stuck into actioning their personal business plan
have expressed surprise at finding that the exercise of moving on and creating
the next phase of their life and career is a full time job in itself, but I
remind them that their personal ‘life’s enterprise’ is the most important
business they’ve ever worked for. It needs the right focus and energy to launch
in new directions. But, like many things in commercial life, it does also
need to be fun, enjoyable and ultimately fulfilling.
Comments
Post a Comment