man-o-pause

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.

Mid-life Resurrection

If you're transitioning through midlife full-bore, you may be surprised one day to find yourself stuck in a life you no longer want.

Don't despair. Just as in adolescence, angst and disorientation are all part of the mid-life transition. A spirit of self-acceptance will help.

Midlife is an opportunity to resurrect oneself from the mire of matter and false gods. If you've been laboring in a field that leaves you feeling dull and diminished, recognize labor for its true purpose. Labor is the process of manifesting achievements that are reached through striving. Through labor you open your inner resources. No matter what your profession, it is your striving that defines you, not your title.

A great Sage said, "Through labor we conquer." What is there to conquer? you may ask. We conquer our small, limited, false self.

When labor and striving unite, there is resurrection. Resurrection is freedom from fear, anxiety and distress. Seek each day to stand with new definiteness that you are the Self. Embrace this time of opportunity for expansion.

More radiant than the sun,
purer than the snow,
subtler than the ether,
is the Self,
the Spirit within my heart.
I am that Self;
that Self am I.

How to Be a Man in Mid-Life

I mentioned to a colleague recently that some of my visitors find my blog by typing in to a search engine "mid-life crisis at 25" and his response was "That's just being 25." I couldn't agree more.

The term midlife crisis has become an umbrella term for any "radical change in behavior." The key difference between being a man at 25 and being a man at 45 is perspective.

Bishop Craig offers some perspective on how to be a man in mid life. To summarize, ask yourself

#1 - Where am I in terms of my own primary sense of identity or value?

If the man gains his identity primarily from work he will evaluate himself in terms of his career; if as a husband he will evaluate in terms of his marriage; if from parenting he will evaluate in terms of how his kids have turned out; if as an athlete he will evaluate in terms of his ongoing athleticism, and so on.

#2 - What am I afraid of?

We are socially conditioned as western males to deny fear, but all of us are afraid of something. Perhaps it's death (our own or of those we love), or being alone (either through death or abandonment), or being unloved, or (perhaps worst of all) of being incapacitated and finding no one to care for us or about us.

# 3 - What actions do I regret?

We all have regrets, but at this point in a man's life he starts thinking about them with an eye toward either making them right or making changes and/or doing things we wish we had done years ago but were too busy to do. That might mean taking up a new hobby, or trying a new career, or trying any of a number of other new things - not all of them healthy or productive.

Read more about Bishop Craig’s' thoughts on midlife reassessment.

As a midlife man, he's more qualified to speak on men's issues than I.

Mid-Life Blues
Making It Right

You may have missed the news about the "mid-life slump" which has now been verified by researchers in Great Britain and the U.S. Data was collected on measures such as depression, anxiety, mental well-being, happiness and life-satisfaction spanning more than 35 years.

I'm dating myself, but 35 years ago, I was in a "puberty slump." As I recall in 1973, I was depressed, anxious, unhappy and dissatisfied with school, family, work and boys.

Fast forward to 2008 and if you're depresesd, anxious, unhappy and dissatisfied with family, work and boys/men, (Thank god we're no longer in school!) then I suggest you're not experiencing a mid-life crisis. May I tenderly suggest that you are living a self-absorbed, self-contained, shallow life.

At 15 this is acceptable. At 45, it is not.

Mid-lifers Can Make It Right

My personal antidote to depression and self-absorption is to get outside of myself. I find that when I give to others, even if it's a simple phone call to my mother, I feel better. If you're feeling down and troubled and you need a helping hand . . . (Oh wait. That's Carol King.) Sorry. Midlife moment.

I recommend a "giving hand" to help you out of your midlife (or otherwise) slump.

Make It Right

The ravages Hurricane Katrina wrought are still with us. Ellen Degeneres, a native of New Orleans, brought the point home on a recent show. Her efforts to help the displaced people of her home town have raised over $10 million.

Brad Pitt convened a group of experts in New Orleans to brainstorm about building green affordable housing on a large scale to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Having spent time with community leaders and displaced residents determined to return home, Pitt realized that an opportunity existed to build houses that were not only stronger and healthier, but that had less impact on the environment.

Visit Make It Right 9 and Adopt a House.

And say so long to midlife malaise.

Understanding Male Menopause

If you've been wondering "What is a man's menopause,?" I just discovered another voice in the Midlife Movement over at FourOh.com, dedicated to taking the crisis out of mid-life. They offer a reasoned response.

". ...The important step to take in dealing with male menopause is to be willing to accept it as a part of life. Acceptance leads to understanding and the more information and knowledge you are able to gather about the condition, the better you will be able to handle it. It may be stressful for some, while others may look at it as a challenge and decide to turn a negative condition into something positive. It's all a matter of one's mindset."

His Midlife Crisis. Her Midlife Crisis. How About Midlife Love?

When a man turns 40, he begins to look to new horizons. When Melanie Gideon's husband became excited over a Ford E-350 with captain's seats, she knew she should consider herself lucky. What man would happily choose a family van as his mid-life crisis vehicle over a Porshe Carrera GT?

As the number of her friends' divorces mounted, she couldn't help but reevaluate her own marriage. "Do I want more? Does he? And how do I know if what I have is enough?"

Her lack of enthusiasm had her wondering if she was having a midlife crisis.

Her husband was wooing her with a diesel engine, but what he really wanted was to find a way to rekindle there sense of adventure and recapture a taste of their vagabond 20s.

Sometimes, midlife love is nothing more than sharing activities you enjoyed together before life got in the way.

See A Diesel Engine Woke Up Our Marriage in The New York Times Style Section, 11/18/2007.

Unhappiness In Men

Are men less happy than women? Is the midlife crisis a marker event that defines you or expands you?

This week LifeTwo.com dedicates the week to improved happiness inspired by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar and his book Happier. Thirty years ago, Dr. Leo Busgalia became famous as the "Love" doctor teaching college courses and holding seminars broadcast during PBS fundraisers. Today, we have websites, blogs and podcasts devoted to helping people live happier more productive lives.

Happiness, love, and contentment are all part of a continuum toward personal growth. You can always be happier. Therefore, as recommended by Ben-Shahar, the question should not be whether you are happy but what you can do to become happier. Better yet, ask yourself, "How can I be happier now and in the future?" Figuring out the answer to this last question and then doing something about it is the goal of LifeTwo's "How To Be Happy" week.

For me, it's been a lifelong pursuit, and I think now that I may have finally found an avenue to financial freedom I'll gladly let go the struggle. While it's been said that money can't make you happy, it sure helps.

Mayo Clinic On Male Menopause

Age-related hormone changes are very different in men than in women. Unlike the more dramatic hormone plunge that occurs in women during menopause, hormone changes in men occur gradually, over a period of many years, the effects of which are often subtle and not noticed until much later in life. Some men are never affected by lower hormone levels at all — while some have physical and psychological symptoms that can include changes in sexual function, energy levels or mood.

Learn more about male menopause: myth or reality at MayoClinic.com.