Did The Clampetts Have To Relocate? A Boomer’s View…

Yes! Another blog yet about change! I just typed in “articles about change” and came back with 3,540,000,000 in .45 seconds.  Add in my measly 9 (now 10) blogs on this subject in some form or another and you’ve got tons of opportunities to explore the ideas, and take actions that create change. Especially when change is created for you!

This one is specifically about MOVING (and ultimately moving forward).  I have clients in transition who are thinking about moving to new places.  I see many, many people making appeals via #socialmedia that state they are “willing to move to X, Y or Z.”  Yep, those seem like fun spots.  So…what’s stopping you?  A JOB?

I think we’ve all learned over the last three, four, six, seven months that where we live now is not of much importance or consequence to how we get paid for what we do well.  Bandwidth, once our Achilles heel, is so much bigger than ever before.  A recent blog by James Altucher predicting the ultimate demise of New York City, and for that matter gothams as we know them, hinges predominantly on the availability of bandwidth, and the ability to communicate and interact effectively with each other regardless of where we are at any given moment.

A friend of mine was recently promoted to the ‘C’ Suite for a tech company that operates internationally.  We were celebrating the news and discussing all the excitement that awaits her. One of her goals, at one time considered provocative, is when searching for talent, to consider anyone, anywhere, based on their ability to adapt to their culture, not just the skills they bring and especially not where they live.  What an amazing perspective shift!  Now, we can live where we want, where things excite us, where we are safe and secure, where we can flourish mentally, physically, financially, spiritually, emotionally and any other “-ally” you can think up. (To shore up her thinking, I was heading to press with this blog and came across an article today regarding REI going remote and selling its brand new corporate HQ. Ben Steele, EVP and Chief Customer Officer said; “We learned that collaboration doesn’t have to be tied to a single location.”!!!!)

This morning I saw one of the latest appeals from a young professional stating that they were laid off due to Covid-19 and were now on the hunt for a new role preferably in New York or California. Please alert them to any new opportunities in either of those arenas! So, what’s holding you back young squire? Go there. Be an agent of change and lead yourself from within to your next promised land.  No matter where it is.  Your job, your career awaits you everywhere!

Among other components of leading from within, The Co-Active Leadership Model states that one should:

• Disregard self-limiting beliefs 
• Understand personal values and purpose 
• And most importantly, clarify what matters most and commit to making it happen

Ok Boomer! So let’s maintain a Boomer’s perspective and close with a completely obscure metaphor from Boomertown: the Clampetts discovered oil in Tennessee, became wealthy and moved to Beverly Hills.  The classic fish out of water story brought to us in living black and white of ‘60s entertainment television.  Only now “oil” can be discovered from anywhere and you can stay there! Or go where you want to go.  In which case maybe, just maybe, the Clampetts would have enjoyed all that wealth and success from a place that they loved, not where they were expected to go because they were rich.

If you want to consider a different way to communicate with others; whether professionally or personally, I invite you to reach out and explore the possibilities with me.  What could your next conversation be like if your approach was to focus on their agenda first? Here’s a link to start creating that discussion right now!