Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!

I recently had the opportunity to visit with several retired or retiring professionals who held leadership roles during their career.  Each had unique elements to their journey but the common threads were of interest to me.

Travel/relocation-advancement depended on moving for the company to where they were needed.   Whether a twenty mile home relocation or a regular trip to a foreign country, each leader faced decisions of whether they would move or stay and each were impacted by the decisions they made.

Health-“wake up call”, “widow-maker”, “the zipper”…like the names on big boats, health events have catchy names because after you have an oh-shit-moment, you stand up and take notice of what just happened.  Stress, poor eating habits, drinking, not exercising enough all catch up to you and sometimes force a retirement or at least a change of direction.  You can’t lead if you’re not here.

Family-typically why we do what we do, or so we tell ourselves.  This forces the question of how we define quality of life or happiness.  Each person I spoke with was steered more by family than any other element.  Trailing spouse held a poor connotation.  Happy wife, Happy life.

The struggle-when do you set down your pencil, iPhone or sword?  When do you decide your cabin is built, your boat is big enough or your physical well being is in jeopardy?  Age was never the factor in my observations.  Because you can draw Medicare?  Because Social Security kicks in at some level?  Nope.  Life events dictated the final date more than anything else.

While we work to do well by our companies and colleagues, we also hope to finish strong and take care of our loved ones.  None of us really know what will happen on the journey.  We can predict and anticipate but I might suggest after interviewing several who just broke the tape at the end of their personal race:

•Enjoy the journey

•Be kind to others but don’t forget to be kind to yourself

•Pay attention to the whispers because if/when you ignore them, the voice will get louder almost assuredly at the most inopportune times

•Prioritize with clarity.  If family comes first always, live it and accept the economic consequences.  If business comes first always, live it and accept the relational consequences.

I am far from this milestone myself.  I talk about starting the fourth quarter but it’s a guess.  I’ve been blessed with an extended time out to lift my head, scan my surroundings, reevaluate my own priorities and reengage.

See you at the finish line!

Have a blessed weekend!