Unemployed Attorneys Should Build Online Platforms Not Sue Their Law Schools

Content marketing strategy and tactics for lawyers and law school graduates seeking jobs

Lawyer Shingle

Photo Credit: by Wesley Fryer via flickr

 

Sara Randazzo, a Wall Street Journal reporter, published this article, Jobless Graduates Who Sued Law Schools Find Little Success in Court.

She shares how Law School Class of 2011 and 2012 J.D.’s from New York Law School, Florida Coastal School of Law, Hofstra Law, Cooley Law School, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, DePaul University College of Law, Widener University School of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and others filed class action lawsuits against their their alma maters for consumer fraud.

These unhappy graduates claimed their law schools mislead them about their post-graduation employment prospects (direct article quotes):

Disgruntled law-school graduates who filed suits accusing their alma maters of deceiving them about their chances of landing a well-paying job haven’t had much success in court.

More than a dozen class actions were filed in 2011 and 2012, but courts across the country have knocked out the lawsuits one by one, including a recent dismissal in Florida. Only a few remain.

 

I sense this frustration because the jobless recovery is realStatistical analysis and employment research proves white collar jobs for undergraduates and graduate program students started disappearing in 2002.

There’s Good News. I see opportunity for these unemployed attorneys. I see solo entrepreneurs with legal expertise to offer clients. Here are three (3) online platform ideas so unemployed lawyers as well as practicing ones can land their own clients and market themselves.

 

(more…)

Five Reasons Why Self-Publishing Exclusively on LinkedIn Is Bad Business

Invest in Yourself. Protect Your Personal Brand. Publish a Self-Hosted Blog.

Runner with LinkedIn Logos

Bolota Asmeron, a member of the Linkedin Elite Centipede outs on a temporary Linkedin tattoo before the start of the 2010 Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco.

Photo Credit: A Name Like Shields Can Make You Defensive

 

Important Note: An intelligent and thought-provoking discussion from The Writing on LinkedIn Group inspired this latest post. Matt Sekol initiated the discussion thread, Where’s The Traditional Blog. It’s people like Matt Sekol (and many others) who reaffirm my belief and commitment to why The Writing on LinkedIn Group is one of the most important, intelligent, and enjoyable communities for engaging with and learning from like-minded individuals within LinkedIn.

Last week, I read Alexandra Samuel’s thoughtful post on Harvard Business ReviewHave LinkedIn and Medium Killed the Old-Fashioned Blog? Almost three years ago and 1 million Linkedin writers later, LinkedIn launched its self-described definitive publishing platform.

I submitted a comment stating why limiting our self-publishing investments to third-party platforms like LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform and Medium without investing in a self-hosted, personal website or personal blog is a career and business mistake.

Here are more detailed thoughts expanding on my comment in Alexandra’s post.  (more…)

Sunday Brunch Reads with Social Media ReInvention: 01/11/15 to 01/17/15

Sunday Brunch Menu

Photo Credit: Anton Diaz

 

I’m still shocked Big Ten Football captured the first-ever national championship game playoff.  I hope these share-worthy links ease the sting for other SEC fans. Stay warm Social Media ReInvention Community Members and enjoy your Sunday Brunch! (more…)

Sunday Brunch Reads with Social Media ReInvention: 01/05/15 to 01/10/15

Sunday Brunch Newspaper

Photo Credit: Anton Diaz

 

Brrrr! It’s cold in The Midwest (East/West Coaster Translation: The Flyover States). Please keep warm and enjoy these share-worthy links during your Sunday brunch.  (more…)

4 More Gifts to Support Others That Power Your After Age 50 Reinvention

 

Gold Gift Box

Gold Gift Box

  

Reinventing You Book ImageNote: This post continues thoughts from 4 Gifts to Give Others to Power Your After Age 50 Reinvention. It's fifth in a series of seven (7) describing successful career reinvention after age 50 by applying principles from Dorie Clark's amazing book, Reinventing You.

Reinventing You's Chapter 9: Reintroduce Yourself: "Develop Validators" is the focus of this post.

 

4 More Gifts to Support Others That Power Your After Age 50 Reinvention

1. Write a LinkedIn Recommendation for Someone You Care About

  
Recruiters Love LinkedIn. LinkedIn may not be as sexy as Facebook or Snapchat but 259+ million members can't be wrongRecruiters and employers constantly search LinkedIn for passive job seekers (defined as someone who currently has a job but would be open to taking a better one). This phenomenon drove $224.7 million in 2013 Q3 revenue for LinkedIn Talent Solutions.

Praise Others so They Know They're Good at What They Do. LinkedIn Recommendations help your colleagues and friends promote their personal brands. They're also an important gesture to support people who may have lost their jobs due to company reorganizations.

Writing an unprompted or unsolicited recommendation without expecting anything in return makes a LinkedIn Recommendation a powerful gift because:

  • You can vouch for another person's expertise and skills (similar to a LinkedIn Endorsement) 
  • Your friend / colleague may feel awkward requesting a recommendation
  • Your recommendation can enhance another person's LinkedIn Profile

Who Can You Support with a LinkedIn Recommendation? Show you're not "just looking out for number 1." It's a great way to thank and acknowledge others who've been integral to your individual success.

 

LinkedIn Recommendations

Recommendations You Give Show Up on Your LinkedIn Profile

2. Encourage Others in LinkedIn Discussions 

Social Media ReInvention Community Members know how much I enjoy The Start-Up of YOU LinkedIn Discussion Group. Participating in LinkedIn Discussions (or initiating discussion topics) is a great way to:

  • Demonstrate your expertise in a specific field or industry
  • Develop credibility and a thought leader reputation
  • Learn from and make new connections with like-minded people 

Show Your Acknowledgement and Appreciation. When you initiate discussion topics, it's great when other members submit comments and opinions. Thank them with an encouraging tone for "putting themselves out there." Acknowledge them and express your appreciation for their input (especially if their thoughts counter yours).

Submitting Comments and Participating in Discussion Forums Requires Personal Risk. That's why people may hesitate submitting a comment for fear of criticism from either you or other members. If you're the discussion moderator, establish a positive tone. Provide encouragement early and consistently.

Encouraging and validating others in your LinkedIn Discussion shows respect, flexibility, and openness: 

 

LinkedIn Discussion Encouragement

Encouragement Fosters LinkedIn Group Participation

3. Say Thank You on Twitter #FF (Follow Fridays)

An Underrated Validator. I love #FF or Twitter Follow Fridays. Recognizing the contributions of smart and interesting members is fundamental to the Twitter Commuity.

State Why Someone Deserves the #FF Mention. Differentiate the individual (and yourself) by describing why another person is worth following. The most common mistake in Follow Fridays is the common "mass communication" #FF "Insert As Many Twitter Handles as I Can in 140 Characters or Less Without Saying Why:"

 

Bad #FollowFriday Example

The Mass Communication #FF #Follow Friday Mistake

Be Different. Put thought and creativity in your #FF tweet. Make your #FF tweets more memorable and separate them from the mass communication pack:

Favorited #FF Tweet 1

Example #1: Describe Why You #FF'd Someone

 

Favorited #FF Tweet 2

Example 2: Describe Why You #FF'd Someone

4. Share Klout +K's With Your Online Friends and Fans

How Influential Are You in the Social Media Universe? Since 2008, Klout.com has attempted to answer this question. The premise behind Klout is that our collective social media participation and influence can be captured, measured, and scored

Your Klout Score Can Have Important Career Implications. According to Seth Stevenson's Wired.com article, What Your Klout Score Really Means, your score matters (especially if you work in or aspire to work in online media). If you actively participate in social media, be aware of your score. 

Share +K's to Help Others Build Influence. Identify the people who support you and spread your ideas. Acknowledge and thank them. Reward their support with Klout +K's in specific topics like Twitter, Social Media, or Blogging.

Giving your friends and fans +K's signals to others that they share great content

Providing +K's in the New Klout Platform. Here are the basic steps:

  1. Find the Klout Profile of the person you'd like to give the +K
  2. Locate the Klout topic you want to select
  3. Hover your cursor over the topic to select it (the topic should become red)
  4. Select that topic and give the +K

 

Imrich Tatiersky Klout +K

Steps 1 and 2 to Give +K's in New Klout Platform

 

Martin Drdak Klout +K

Steps 3 and 4 to Give +K's in New Klout Platform

 

Closing Thoughts

Give and You Will Receive. Be generous to others. Be kind. Support others and third party validation takes care of itself.

What Do You Think? Please let me know in your comments.

If you enjoyed this post, here are the others in the series:

Photo Credit via flickr by sparkleblues

 

Your Turn

Please let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts in the comments. I would love to hear from you. I’m here to read, listen, and learn from YOUR PERSPECTIVE.   Comments are open. So let’er rip!

 


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Lesson 3A of 6: Reinventing You After Age 50 Case Study — Michael Ovitz and Developing Validators

Mother of Reinvention

Career Reinvention After 50 Is Possible

IMPORTANT NOTE: This case study series is a self-initiated interpretation and analysis by me, the blog author.  I want to make it clear that neither Dorie Clark nor Michael Ovitz were consulted or personally endorsed this case study and how I've applied the analysis to the valuable teachings in Reinventing You.

 

Are You Too Old to Professionally Reinvent Yourself After Age 50?  

No!  You still have time.  The real question you should is: How Much Are You Going to Focus, Your Unique Assets, Time, and Energy into Your Post-50 Career Reinvention?  

If these thoughts run through your mind or resemble one (or more) of the following, I encourage you to keep reading:

  • "I just got layed off and am looking for a job (or I'm worried about getting layed off) …" or
  • "I love to learn, try new things, and build different skills …" or
  • "What do you mean by unique assets?  What the hell are you talkin' about?  I don't think I have any …"  

Because YOU CAN Successfully Reinvent Yourself After Age 50

 

Reinventing You Book Image

Reinventing You by Dorie Clark

This post is third in a series of six (6) about successful career reinvention after age 50

In this post (and the other five), I talk about linkages I see from Michael Ovitz's career reinvention after age 50 to six (6) of Dorie Clark's Reinventing You principles from Chapter 9: Reintroduce Yourself and Chapter 10: Prove Your Worth.

The bullet point highlighted in blue is the Reinventing You principle analyzed in this post:

  • Develop Validators
  • Leverage Symbolic Actions
  • Go Where The Action Is
  • Building Your Portfolio

Note: The following analysis references examples from the October 2013 Fortune Magazine article: Ovitz Does Silicon Valley by David A. Kaplan to describe Michael Ovitz's latest career reinvention in the context of Reinventing You's valuable teachings.

Lesson 3A: Develop Validators

 

Validators

Who Are Your Validators?

Dorie Clark emphasizes the importance of "having other people talk us up."  Here are key quotes from Reinventing You's Chapter 9: Reintroduce Yourself — Develop Validators:


Another important way we can convey our new identities is through external validators, that is, other people talking us up. As a powerhouse group of researchers led by both Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Cialdini discovered, the secret is to have someone else bragging for you.
(Jeffrey Pfeffer) "People don't like people who self-promote. But ironically, even if you self-promote through the mouths of other people, somehow that stigma doesn't get associated with you.  It's much better to have someone else toot your horn." 
 

 

Defenders

Who Are Your Defenders?

 

Powerful and Influential Third-Party Validators Address Key Objectives for Michael Ovitz: (1) Promoting Him as a Trusted Silicon Valley Advisor and (2) Defending Him Against Critics.  Since 1999, Mr. Ovitz developed and nurtured business relationships with Sillcon Valley's movers and shakers.  These people provide and support him with significant third-party validation:

These direct quotes from the aforementioned October 2013 Kaplan-Fortune article highlight how Mr. Ovitz's third-party validators defend and talk him up:


1. Marc Andreesen on Mr. Ovitz role as a trusted advisor to Andreesen Horowitz (Andreesen's venture capital firm):


There are similar tales of Ovitzian assistance around the Valley as he rises again, this time far removed from the lights of show business. At Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm, Ovitz is an in-house mentor on how to build a full-service operation in the mold of Creative Artists Agency, the Hollywood talent monolith he built and ran from 1975 to 1995.

"Michael is the classic kind of entrepreneur that we like up here — he's highly aggressive, he's highly disruptive," says Marc Andreessen, with whom Ovitz has cultivated a relationship since 1999. "Michael's a very close friend of the firm. He's a great friend to have." He's also an investor in the firm, though AH won't say for how much. 

2. Peter Thiel on the C-Level, cross-industry breadth and depth of Mr. Ovitz's business connections:


"Michael can get us in to see any CEO in the U.S.," Thiel says.
 "The Valley has this excessive insularity. But he has cross-sector relationships in New York, L.A., and other places."  Thiel says Ovitz has a preternatural ability to 'learn things quickly and then communicate them to the outside world."

Since the dotcom implosion of the late 1990s, he (Thiel) says, too many new companies in the Valley have 'retrenched,' de-emphasizing relationships with other businesses and institutions.  Consulting Ovitz, whose network Thiel calls 'second to none,' has been a way to overcome that inclination.

3. Peter Thiel, Marc Andreesen, Peter Szulczewski, Joe Lonsdale, and Boris Sofman discuss Mr. Ovitz's critics and detractors:


Says Thiel (Peter): "I've learned to discount bad things said about people by rivals, and I'm not aware of a single bad thing about Ovitz that wasn't said by a rival."

Although Andreessen and others in Ovitz's new circle acknowledge the skepticism, they have different takes on it. Andreessen is the most dismissive of Ovitz doubters and ascribes Ovitz's repute more to the peculiarities of Hollywood than to any of his own faults. "We're used to guys like that here — I mean, Steve Jobs, for God's sake! Or my career, right?" Andreessen says. "That's the cultural difference between Silicon Valley and L.A." Had Intel's Andy Grove or Netscape's Jim Clark made his mark in Hollywood, according to Andreessen, he'd have the same kind of bad-boy name as Ovitz.
Peter Szulczewski of Wish says, "I haven't seen the type of things that people warned me about."
Formation 8's Joe Lonsdale agrees. "People are naturally more cautious because of his history," he says. "But he's (Ovitz) demonstrated awesome value in so many tangible ways to different people that they overlook it. And it's hard to map out what's true and what isn't." Ovitz is a limited partner in Formation 8, with a "small" investment of "under $5 million," as the firm describes it.
"There's a disconnect between a lot of the things written about him and kind of the person we've gotten to know," says Boris Sofman, the CEO and co-founder of Anki, who talks almost daily with Ovitz. Sofman says Ovitz has alluded to his own past by counseling Sofman on what happens when you're successful. "When you lead in your industry," Ovitz told him, "it's easy to start getting vilified, and the tide can turn on you quickly and unexpectedly."
Sofman says Ovitz has no stake in Anki, not even advisory fees. That may merely mean Ovitz hasn't asked yet. Or, as Sofman suggests, it could be that Ovitz really is in it for more than the money. "One of the things he shared with me is he truly loves working with young people," says Sofman, who just turned 30.

 

Closing Thoughts

Your Turn. Okay, you may still be thinking:

  • "I don't have high-profile, high-powered connections like Michael Ovitz …"
  • "Even if I did, how could or why would any of my connections 'talk me up' …"
  • "If I were to ask, wouldn't my connections be offended. It's sleazy to ask for third-party validations  …"

 

Ipad and iphone

Your Third Party Validators Are In The Palm of Your Hand

 

YOU HOLD Multiple Assets and Connections In The Palm of Your Hand.  They're in your laptop hard drive. They're accessible via the keyboards on your laptop, smartphone, or tablet.   

YOU CAN mobilize these connections on your behalf with a few keystrokes or finger swipes. 

YOU HAVE Michael Ovitz-Like Third-Party Validators.  It's all relative. You already know and are connected to influential third-party validators through these online assets and communities:

  • Your Personal Blog
  • Blog Comments on Other Blogs
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter 
  • Klout

Build Your Relationships with Your Validators by Blogging, Commenting, Connecting, Tweeting, and +K'ing.  I connect with my third party validators on a weekly basis via these online assets and communities.  Several of these kind and generous people are highly influential and powerful in their respective professions.  These wonderful people generously support me as career mentors and allies in my personal branding and online reputation work.

Focusing on building these types of assets and participating in these communities enables you to do two important things:

1. Connect with like-minded people who share your values

2. Build what Dorie Clark refers to as an intellectual property (IP) portfolio 

Let me be candid: 

  • I'm not a rocket scientist (just ask my wife and my 9-year old daughter).
  • I'm not a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or Amazon.com best-selling book author.

I'm just a regular dude who enjoys:

If I Can Do It, You Can Too.  I'll describe my own experiences on developing and cultivating relationships with my third-party validators in the next post in this series on Reinventing You After Age 50.

Lesson 3B: Developing Validators with Your Personal Branding Online Assets is scheduled for a February 2, 2014 publication.  

If you enjoyed this post, here are links to the series' first two posts:

 

 

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Photo Credit via flickr by World of Good

Photo Credit via flickr by xfile001

Photo Credit via flickr by Joriel "Joz" Jimenez

Photo Credit via flickr by spieri_sf 

 

Lesson 2 of 6: Reinventing You After Age 50 Case Study — Michael Ovitz and Shifting Your Behavior

Mother of Reinvention

Reinvention After Age 50 is Possible

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: This case study series is a self-initiated interpretation and analysis by me, the blog author.  I want to make it clear that neither Dorie Clark nor Michael Ovitz were consulted or personally endorsed this case study and how I’ve applied the analysis to the valuable teachings in Reinventing You.

You’re Not Too Old to Reinvent Yourself After Age 50

Reinventing You Book ImageThis post is second in a series of six (6) about successful career reinvention after age 50.

In this post (and the other five), I talk about linkages I see from Michael Ovitz’s career reinvention after age 50 to six (6) of Dorie Clark’s Reinventing You principles from Chapter 9: Reintroduce Yourself and Chapter 10: Prove Your Worth.

The bullet point highlighted in blue is the Reinventing You principle analyzed in this post:

  • Shift Your Behavior
  • Develop Validators
  • Leverage Symbolic Actions
  • Go Where The Action Is
  • Building Your Portfolio

Note: The following analysis references examples from the October 2013 Fortune Magazine article: Ovitz Does Silicon Valley by David A. Kaplan to describe Michael Ovitz’s career reinvention in the context of Reinventing You’s valuable teachings.

Lesson 2: Shift Your Behavior

 

Change or Chance Dice

Change or Chance?

Changing Behaviors Can Augment Our Career Reinvention Process.  For example, some people may mean need to become more proactive in making business connections by reaching out and inviting them to lunch or an early morning cup of coffee.  For others, it may mean putting together a campaign to submit and pitch articles to industry publications so to build a thought leadership reputation in a new industry community.

The behavioral change will be different for everyone, but following through is important. Here’s a direct quote from Reinventing You:

Small tangible signals are only part of the battle, however.  The biggest challenge is changing your behavior to reflect your new goals and reality.

 

Change MuralFrom Hollywood Dealmaker and Power Broker to Trusted Advisor and Business Coach.  Mr. Ovitz now leverages his wealth of Hollywood client advisory experiences to counsel growing Silicon Valley startups and their young executives.  He’s not directly involved in “making the deals” for the entrepreneurs he now advises. But, he coaches, prepares, and reassures these entrepreneurs so they can successfully execute deals, negotiations, or other key (and sometimes unfamiliar) business activities required for company growth.

Here are examples from the Kaplan-Fortune article:

Managing Growth.  At Anki, a consumer-robotics startup, the CEO says Ovitz has advised him during some late nights about ‘psychological transitions’ as his company grows.

Pitching Wall Street.  At Formation 8, a flush new VC fund focused on Asia, Ovitz has explained to the three investment partners how to hone their image and brand for Wall Street types.  “Michael knows that world too,” says Joe Lonsdale, one of the young Formation 8 partners.  “He can show us how to ask them for a favor, but how not to push to hard.”

Telling Your Company’s Unique Story and Providing Reassurance.  Ovitz serves as a guru to other prominent people in the tech world, including Tony Bates, the president of Skype, and Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, the home-sharing network.  Ovitz coaches them on culture and storytelling.  He picks them up when they have bouts of doubt.

Closing Thoughts


Things Can ChangeMore Than a Decade Before Reinventing You’s Publication, Mr. Ovitz Successfully Applied the Book’s Valuable Principles.  His focus, street smart savvy, and resilience are why Michael Ovitz successfully continues “working his magic” after age 50.  That’s why personal branding or personal reputation management is especially important for 50+ year-old professionals.

Shun The Naysayers and Critics. Mr. Ovitz did. Tenacity and mental toughness are critical.

Professional Reinvention After 50 is More Than Possible.  Michael Ovitz proves it can be done (and he’s approaching 70).  And, Dorie Clark’s Reinventing You shows you how to do it.


Our Turn: What Behaviors Do We Need to Shift?
  Changing and executing these behaviors may make us uncomfortable. These may include trying new things that may not work. But, taking intelligent risks is an important part of career development (and reinvention).

  • Why not, submit some of your best blog posts to certain publications to become a contributing writer / editor?
  • Why not, directly connect on email, Twitter, LinkedIn, (or another social network) to a renowned business author or respected business leader (especially if you can provide her/him something of value)?
  • Why not, make that phone call or send that email to a potential, new business connection inviting them to breakfast, coffee, or lunch?  Maybe, you have something that can help advance that person’s career (i.e., a LinkedIn connection, a blog post supporting that person’s book, thousands of engaged Twitter followers, etc.).

If you proactively built your personal brand or online reputation, you hold differentiating personal assets.  Maximize those “soft assets” and don’t underestimate their power.

If It Makes Us Nervous, We’re on the Right Track.  The worst that can happen is any of the above (or all of the above) say no.  But, all it takes is one “yes” …

… and that “one” may lead to something life-changing and magical.

 

If you enjoyed this post, here’s the link to the first post in the series.  Please stay tuned for the next post in this series on Reinventing You After Age 50–Lesson 3: Develop Validators is scheduled for a January 24, 2014 publication.  

 

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Please share my work with your friends. Many Thanks!

Lesson 1 of 6: Reinventing You After Age 50 Case Study – Michael Ovitz Proves Status Can Be Taken With You

Mother of Reinvention

Career Reinvention After Age 50 Is Possible

IMPORTANT NOTE: This case study series is a self-initiated interpretation and analysis by me, the blog author.  Dorie Clark and Michael Ovitz were neither consulted nor involved in how I developed the following analysis.

 

Reinventing You Book Image

Reinventing You by Dorie Clark

Do YOU Think You’re Too Old To Reinvent Yourself After Age 50?


Author and frequent Harvard Business Review and Forbes contributor, Dorie Clark would say you’re wrong
.  And, she’s right on the money.

I agree we’re never too old to continuously shape our professional reputations (and portfolios).

Dorie Clark’s book, Reinventing You is one of my favorite MUST-READ business books of 2013.  Reinventing You is a GREAT investment for your professional career.  Dorie’s book is a personal and professional development GIFT.

Reinventing You After Age 50 Case Study: Michael Ovitz

Instead of a traditional book review, I’m applying Dorie’s thoughtful teachings to a successful real-world, high-profile career reinvention after age 50: Michael Ovitz, Owner of Broad Beach Ventures LLC.

Before There was Ari Gold and Klout, There was Michael Ovitz.  Mr. Ovitz personified and defined Hollywood business clout and influence.  For younger Social Media ReInvention Community Members, Michael Ovitz as the co-founder and leader of Creative Arts Agency (CAA) became Hollywood’s most powerful talent agent. Mr. Ovitz was THE Hollywood powerbroker — ask David Letterman.

CAA’s stellar client list and and Ovitz’s unique skills and strategic vision in “packaging” actors, directors, screenwriters, and other CAA talent as “solution offerings” (similar to how management consulting firms position their service capabilities) differentiated CAA and propelled his Hollywood influence.

Today, Mr. Ovitz No Longer Plays Hollywood Power Broker.  From 1995 through 2002, he publicly experienced high-profile, professional setbacks.  To say his detractors and former competitors delighted in these failures is an understatement.

I Admire and Respect Mr. Ovitz’s Resilience in Reinventing Himself.  For the past 11 years, he’s shifted and focused his unique talents, assets, and energy to the technology world. According to David A. Kaplan’s October 2013 Fortune Magazine article, Ovitz Does Silicon Valley, Mr. Ovitz methodically reinvented himself as a top advisor to Silicon Valley technology companies.


Still Think You’re Too Old to Reinvent Yourself After Age 50? 

This post is first in a series of six (6) about successful career reinvention after age 50.

The aforementioned Kaplan-Fortune article provides examples of Michael Ovitz’s latest career.  In this post (and the next five), I will talk about linkages I see from Mr. Ovitz’s reinvention after age 50 to six (6) of Dorie Clark’s Reinventing You principles from Chapter 9: Reintroduce Yourself and Chapter 10: Prove Your Worth.

The bullet point highlighted in blue is the Reinventing You principle analyzed in this post:

  • Status — You Can Take It With You 
  • Shift Your Behavior
  • Develop Validators
  • Leverage Symbolic Actions
  • Go Where The Action Is
  • Building Your Portfolio

 

Lesson 1: Status — You Can Take It With You

 

Halo Effect

The Halo Effect

Maximize the Halo Effect of Your Unique Competive Advantage. In Reinventing You’s Chapter 9, Reintroduce Yourself, Dorie writes about the “halo effect” (as described by Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of Power: Why Some People Have It–And Others Don’t):

“It’s a psychological phenomenon known as the ‘halo effect.” “If I think you’re good in one domain, I think you’re going to be good in other domains, as well. There’s the presumption that talented people have this set of generalized abilities.”

That ‘durability of reputation’–across both time and situations–makes it essential for you to be strategic about how you’re perceived from day one.  “You need to do something to build a very good reputation, a personal brand, and that will help you not only in your current place but in other places, as well.”

The secret, then is to leverage both your past experiences and the confidence that you’ve derived from your accomplishments.  After all, other people take their cues from you, so when you’re introducing your new brand, assume that others will welcome your contribution.

 

Golden Key

Key to the C-Suite

Michael Ovitz’s Unique, “Halo Effect” Competitive Advantage: CEO and Executive Chairman Level Access Across Multiple Industries.  The Kaplan-Fortune Article describes two examples of how Mr. Ovitz leverages his lifelong business connections and maximizes his former Hollywood mogul / dealmaker / powerbroker status to open C-Suite doors previously closed to young, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

 

 

  1. Peter Szulczewski, CEO of Wish.com:  The October 2013 Fortune article describes how Mr. Ovitz assisted Szulczewski when he ran into problems with initially securing the company’s domain name.

The company had an uninspired name, ContextLogic, and its beta website was the forgetable wishwall.me.  Wish.com wasn’t available.

Ovitz saw immediately that the domain name was critical.  “I can help with that!” he (Ovitz) told Szulczewski, and, with his big swinging Rolodex, within weeks tracked down the owner of wish.com.  It was a French subsidiary of Barry Diller’s IAC. Szulczewski handled the actual negotiation — he won’t disclose the price — but Ovitz war-gamed tactics beforehand.

  1. Peter Thiel, Venture Capitalist, PayPal co-founder, and Chairman of Palantir Techologies on the breadth and power of the the Michael Ovitz business network (also from the Kaplan-Fortune article):

“Michael can get us in to see any CEO in the U.S.,” Thiel says. “The Valley has this excessive insularity. But he has cross-sector relationships in New York, L.A., and other places.”  Thiel says Ovitz has a preternatural ability to ‘learn things quickly and then communicate them to the outside world.”

Since the dotcom implosion of the late 1990s, he (Thiel) says, too many new companies in the Valley have ‘retrenched,’ de-emphasizing relationships with other businesses and institutions.  Consulting Ovitz, whose network Thiel calls ‘second to none,’ has been a way to overcome that inclination.

 

Closing Thoughts

More Than a Decade Before Reinventing You’s Publication, Mr. Ovitz Successfully Applied the Book’s Valuable Principles.  His focus, street smart savvy, and resilience are why Michael Ovitz successfully continues “working his magic” after age 50.

During this reinvention period and today, Mr. Ovitz shuns his critics and naysayers.  Tenacity and mental toughness are critical to a successful career reinvention (at any age).

Professional Reinvention After 50 is ABSOLUTELY Possible.  Michael Ovitz proves it. Dorie Clark’s Reinventing You shows us how to do it.

Our Turn.  Here’s a link to the landing page for Dorie’s free, Professional Reinvention Self Assessment.  Let’s take inventory of ourselves and ask:

  • What are our unique competitive advantages?
  • What makes us different from others in our current field (and the new domain we want to break into)?
  • How can we help others, what doors can we open, and who are the unique connections in our business networks so we can maximize our individual halo effects?

Those unique competitive advantages can help us “work our magic.”

Just like Michael Ovitz …

Please stay tuned for the next post in this series on Reinventing You After Age 50. Lesson 2: Shift Your Behavior is scheduled for a Friday, January 17, 2014 publication.

 

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A Visual Metaphor for Mitch Joel’s Reboot: You from CTRL ALT DELETE

 

 

 

Members of the Social Media ReInvention Blog Community know I'm a HUGE Mitch Joel Fan.  I'm currently studying his latest book, CTRL ALT DELETE.  I love this book because it's typical Mitch Joel:

  • Visionary / Forward Thinking
  • Entertaining / Great Writing
  • Thought-Provoking / Cites Tons of Other Great Books I Need to Read

I still need to finish Part 1 of the book describing five (5) current/future business drivers. As soon as I get the "story structure" better organized, I'll ship and publish the full book review. Until then, here's a glimpse of what I've learned from studying CTRL ALT DELETE:

CTRL ALT DELETE'S Seven (7) Reboot: You Triggers 


1. A Digital First Posture
(as defined by Mitch Joel, page 124 of CTRL ALT DELETE).  "A digital-first posture means that the first place your consumers go when making a business decision is to their computers, smartphones, and/or tablets.  This should be your default posture as well.

2. The Long and Squiggly Road (e.g., Embrace the Squiggle)  Career paths are forever-changing because the "career escalator is jammed up" especially in large, Fortune 500 companies. Careers no longer follow a linear trajectory. If you want to continue developing valuable and marketable skills, you have to embrace the squiggle and adapt to pursuing multiple careers (not just multiple jobs) during your lifetime.  It's permanent beta personafied.

3. The New Way We/You Work.  The key to the survival and career success now is "standing out," "being differentiating," and "making yourself indispensable." You want to be THE MAN | THE WOMAN that everyone in your organization views as "The Linchpin." And, that process begins with making a conscious choice to pick yourself and ship your art.

4. The Marketing of You.  Beef up your skills in pitching, selling, storytelling, and thinking critically.  Why? Because Corporate America has already started shifting to resources to a free agent / freelancer nation. And, that trend won't stop — we're in Generation Flux (whether we like it or not). Start building the skills that will help you adapt in the ever-increasing Gig Economy.

5. Your Life in Start-Up Mode / The Start-Up of YOU.  You were born an entrepreneur. Actively manage your career like you're a lean start-up.

6. Work the Space.  We are mobile workers and can work anywhere.  All we need are:

  • A laptop / tablet
  • A smartphone
  • High-speed internet connectivity 

7. Embracing the Next.  Longevity in a productive, rewarding career requires a continuous ability to adapt, iterate, and spot game-changing trends.  Mitch lists and describes six (6) of these trends in this chapter.  If you want to learn what they are, buy his book.

 

Please click here for my full book review of Mitch Joel's CTRL ALT Delete.

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.