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Starbucks' Mid-Career Crisis

Starbucks is hitting some resistance to its phenomenal growth. Same store sales are down, the CEO has publicly questioned the dilution of the brand and side offerings are getting lukewarm reception in the market. Is Starbucks going through a mid-life crisis?

Sounds similar to a corporate mid-career crisis. After having run half the marathon you're out of juice and not sure which path to take. Are you questioning your ability to make it to the finish line? So what does Starbucks tell us about getting a handle on this mid-career situation?

Growth Strategy: You are probably stuck mid-stream because you are unsure about your career path. Just like adding more stores is not working for Starbucks, you know what is not working for you but are unsure about what will. Strategize your growth and career options. Look at the big picture, and put the pieces together of where you want to be eventually. Then chalk out a plan for getting there. Confer with mentors. Review, evaluate and create your growth strategy. As they say – “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will do.”

Focus: Are you digressing from your strengths? Remember Starbucks trying to sell music and movies? Starbucks' true service offering is coffee, not music and movies. Don’t make that mistake in your career. Diversify, expand, learn, but keep your focus on what you do well and how to leverage those strengths to move forward.

Brand Management: When the Starbucks chairman, Howard Schultz, frets that rapid expansion is diluting the brand, there is something to learn from that message. You have a brand and your brand proclaims who you are. You have spent years inculcating that brand – don’t dilute your brand by being negligent and comfortable. Brand management requires exemplary delivery on the promise. Your brand and credibility is contingent on your execution. You cannot afford to let-up.

Capitalizing on your strengths is a big part of career progression. I recommend this post on career management. Whether you're looking to make a midlife career change or establishing a second career mid life, Mark Runta offers excellent advice on the subject.

Says Mark: "You have come this far and kudos to you for that accomplishment. But the race is still on and the last half is harder. A lot harder! The prepared, resolute and focused usually finish the race."

If you still have the energy to climb the ladder, Mark offers a free e-book, Unstuck, to help you reenergize your career progression.

Thanks to Mark Runta, who offers thoughts and comments on Project Management and Global Outsourcing on his blog.

Job Burn Out or Midlife Crisis?

That boring job should sound an alarm, according to Phyllis Korkki, NY Times career coach. A twenty-year career coincides with midlife if you started that job in your twenties. If you're career isn't changing after 40, I would become suspicious. But just because your boring job collides with your middling years, doesn't necessarily mean that you're having a midlife crisis.

In fact, recognizing your boring job for what it is can be a wake-up call. Boredom is a symptom.

"Sometimes your very success can lead to boredom," said Rachelle J. Canter, career coach and author of Make the Right Career Move. "If you continue to do the same thing again and again, and you're good at it, people are going to ask you to do the same thing."

It's easy to blame the boss, your wife, or a "midlife crisis" on your current unhappiness, but, ultimately, you're the only one in charge of your career growth and happiness.

I've purposely avoided the corporate career track and now find myself at midlife working for a Fortune 500 company where 30-year careers are common. Even though I'm bored occasionally (the pace in corporate America is much slower than the hard-charging business start-up), it's still a new experience for me. (You can read about my own career transition here.)

Another employee, however, found himself feeling stuck. He'd been doing the same kind of work pretty much his entire tenure. When his boss recommended he apply for an assignment overseas, he found the idea exhilarating. Even though his commute increased from twenty minutes to two days, he's glad he made the move and describes himself as more engaged and enthused. All he needed was a midlife career correction, not necessarily a mid life career change.

So if you're bored at work, I suspect you need a new challenge. As a self-starter, I create challenges for myself all the time. For me, it's a sure-fire antidote to boredom. If you're waiting for a boss to challenge you, you may need to take the initiative to create challenges for yourself.

We want to be doing more than surviving midlife; we want to be thriving. At least I do.

Do What You Love & You'll Probably Starve

This provocative title is counter to the myth of the Baby Boomer generation: Do what you love and the money will follow? How many middle aged people love what they do? Money, while important, takes on less importance. We're all headed for a midlife crisis when reality conflicts with myth.

Marty Nemko takes a contrarian view of career contentment, from how to choose a career to determining if self-employment is for you. If you've been thinking about career change at 20, 40 or 60, this article is for you.

John Agno, certified executive and business coach, weighs in challenging this notion:

"Experts say many people retire only to discover that work provided key sources of psychological fulfillment, such as status or a sense of purpose, that aren't easy to replicate. How are you going to continue to engage the world after your first career ends?

"As Baby Boomers near the end of their first career, it's clear many don't have a clue of what's next or even how to answer those questions. Only after the action in the first career stops do many early retirees realize they need to replace the stimulation, the social network and the psychic rewards that come from work. Mid-life career and phased retirement planning is also about how to fill your time with worthwhile pursuits during the close to 35 years in this phase of life."