I’ve moved my blog. You will find my new posts at www.stage2solution.com under the blog tab.
I hope you will follow me over there and participate in our conversations.
As always, thanks for those who read my stuff.
Josh Patrick
My blog has moved
September 23, 2010
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Posted by stage2
Moving from success to significance……a question many of us should answer
September 3, 2010I often hear “experts” talking about separating your business from your personal life. In some respects this makes sense, especially after you leave your business, but in others it never seems to work.
Private business owners often feel guilty when they don’t separate the two. The problem with this is many private business owners, myself included think about their business more than eight hours a day. It’s not something we put to bed when we walk out the door of our business.
In our connected world it’s easier for us to carry our work home with us. Between laptop computers and distributed storage for our files it’s incredibly easy to continue working at home after the regular work day or on the weekend. More than once I’ve meant to spend fifteen minutes on something and emerge four hours later having moved from project to project.
When we sell our business or move on to another stage in our life it’s then we have to make sure we have something to fill our time. The phone stops ringing, people stop asking us for our advice and we become a non-person in the industry that we left. For many, again including myself this can be or is an issue as much for our ego and feeling of self-worth as it is for how we spend our time.
If we’re not ready for the “exile” that happens when we leave our business the adjustment can be very difficult. The what’s next question is an important one that needs to be answered. If not, before you leave your business, then shortly afterwords as you’re trying to figure out how to spend your time. There really is only so much golf that can be played.
There’s an organization called Halfetime that can help with many who have had successful careers, sold their business and are trying to figure out what’s next. They help successful people move from the financial success they may have had to significance for how you spend your time. The move to the second half of your life is one if done properly can provide a great deal of satisfaction. I encourage you to give them a look and let me know what you think.
Josh Patrick
I encourage all comments to my blog. I’m always interested in what readers are thinking about the topics I write about.
2 Comments | Collaboration, Time Management, Uncategorized, Value Creation, Wealth Management | Tagged: Half time, success to significance | Permalink
Posted by stage2
Getting married at the perfect place
August 21, 2010Tomorrow my daughter is getting married. The event is going to be held at Mary’s Inn at Baldwin Creek. Suzanne and I have known and patronized Doug and Linda’s restaurant for over thirty years. For us, it’s a real pleasure doing business with them and I personally really like many things about not only how they run their restaurant, but their philosophy of eating.
Since my cancer treatment and side effects from side effects I’ve dramatically changed the way I eat and Mary’s fits right into my philosophy and practice changes that I’ve made.
The first thing about their operation that makes a lot of sense to me is using a local focus on procurement of their food. If they don’t grow the vegetables on their property, they try to source them locally. Most of the meat comes from local small farm growers as well as their breads. What this means is the food they serve is locally grown and, or raised. From both a health point of view for the body and the economy this is a good thing.
The second thing they promote is slow eating. This movement started in Europe and is now moving to the US. The slow eating movement is just what it sounds like. When a restaurant promotes slow eating, it means that food will be prepared slowly and not pre-cooked. It also means that you as a diner will need to take your time. Your food is going to come out of the kitchen slower than you may have come to expect from many restaurants. For me, slow eating means relaxing with my wife and or friends and having a leisurely meal where I get a chance to taste great combinations of food and wine.
Tomorrow is a big day in many people’s lives. Alexa, our daughter starts an adventure as a married person. Suzanne and I will be adopting a new person as our son in law. Both of us are thrilled with Alexa’s choice. We think Rob is a kind and thoughtful person. One who will wear well over a long period of time.
I’m thinking that it’ll be a day I remember for a long time.
Josh Patrick
Leave a Comment » | Ethics, Uncategorized, Wealth Management | Tagged: Inn at Baldwin Creek, Localvore Movement, Quality Conversation, Slow Eating Movement | Permalink
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Let’s think about a new way of organizaing our companies
August 20, 2010I just finished reading Daniel Pink’s most recent book Drive. This is one of those books that is good to read whether you agree with him or not.
His thesis is that we work better with more enthusiasm when are allowed to control how we do our work. I think that thought makes sense. Today we work more in a conceptual world than we do in a manufacturing or agrarian world. In the conceptual world tight control over employees and partners is counter productive. The more controls we put in place, the less creative our work becomes.
There is a move towards allowing people to spend up to twenty percent of their time working on any project they desire. I like this idea. It gives people working with us the chance to learn, spread their wings and take more responsibility for their work experience.
This idea is a tough one for first generation entrepreneurs who thing and want to control everything in their business. Letting our employees and co-workers have more freedom about how they do their work can be a daunting experiment. Many times we feel that if we don’t tightly control what’s going on, the wheels will come off our business. Pink would say, that is actually the opposite. The more tightly we control conceptual work, the more likely bad things will happen.
The research shows that what we do in managing most companies is the opposite of what we should do if we want high performing organizations. And, in fact many of the companies I respect and enjoy doing business with the most have adopted strategies that allow employees to choose how, where and when they will do their work.
I strongly suggest that you take the time to read the book yourself. If nothing else, it’ll cause you to think about your role as a manager or owner.
Josh Patrick
Leave a Comment » | Collaboration, Ethics, Family Business, For Business Advisors, For Business Owners, Uncategorized, Value Creation | Tagged: Daniel Pink, Drive, Organizational Development, Work Conditions | Permalink
Posted by stage2
Some thought on the Tea Party movement I haven’t seen
May 25, 2010I’ve been thinking about the Tea Party movement and why there might be so much anger in our country right now.
It appears that there is a large group of primarily older (50 -70) people in our country who are very unhappy with our Government and the people running the Government. We aren’t seeing nearly as many younger Citizens getting upset or having the issues that our older population has.
The though occurred to me that two things are happening:
First, this group of people are feeling threatened from the inside. They see their jobs disappearing and they see new skills are required to get new jobs. Second, they see that they really haven’t had an increase in purchasing power in thirty years. This group does see CEO’s of public corporations getting ridiculous pay packages. This is especially true on Wall Street where those who have put the Country at risk are being rewarded with multi-million dollar pay packages.
In addition, they are threatened from the outside. They see immigration being an evil thing where people are sneaking over the border, taking jobs and using Government resources that the Tea Party people think are rightfully theirs.
The Tea Party movement in many respects reminds me of the anti-war movement that the other part of the Baby Boom generation participated in during the late 60′s and early 70′s. There is a general feeling that things are not right. This group knows what they don’t like, but they don’t really know what should be done to fix it.
There is a great deal of dislocation happening in the country right now. Our country is at a crossroads. The crossroads is not about whether immigrants come to this country, it’s about what makes an American an American. We are becoming more multi-cultural. Our younger generations get this and embrace it. The older generations finds this a risk and wants to stop it.
We probably aren’t going to be able to stop the changes. We are going to need to come up with a new social compact between large organizations and the Citizens of this country. If we don’t come to grips with the abuses that result from the collusion of big Government and big Business, the Tea Party movement could move from being unhappy to violently unhappy. If that happens, we all lose.
We need to be thinking about the macro changes that are afoot. As with all huge tectonic changes, there will be winners and losers. I believe these winners and losers should be based on what they bring to the table, not what influence they have with our Politicians.
There are many nasty comparisons between Ayn Rand and the Tea Party or Libertarian movement. One thing that seems to be coming true is that incompetent CEO’s are in collusion with incompetent Legislators to fleece the general public. And, this is what I think is the big issue that everyone is missing in the Tea Party anger.
Josh Patrick
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Collusion, Incompetent CEO's, Incompetent Politicians, Libertarian thought, Tea Party | Permalink
Posted by stage2
Finding an Elder….join the virtuous path
May 24, 2010I’ve been thinking about the concept of Elders in our lives. Elders are not mentors or coaches. They might work with you in a similar way of a coach or a mentor, but they always are different. Elders go past giving instructions such as a coach or asking questions such as a mentor. An Elder sets the path for others to follow.
An Elder could be a parent, a revered older teacher or someone you respect. They will have lived many years, had many experiences and understand appropriate paths one can take in their life.
Our society is enthralled with the idea of a personal coach. I think that coaching is fine, but without having a direction coaching can lead you in an inappropriate direction. I think that if you’re going to look for a mentor or a coach, it’s first best to find an Elder you can follow and learn from. An Elder will help point you in the direction while your mentors and coaches help with the specifics of what you need to do.
I believe that we don’t have enough Elder’s or aren’t listening to our Elders in a way that helps make our world better. An Elder by definition will be thinking about long-term results. Part of this is because for an Elder to be an Elder they must have lived many years and seen many things. I don’t believe you can have a young Elder. You can have young coaches and middle aged mentors but all Elders must be older.
I think of people like Warren Buffet and Peter Drucker having moved through life and ending up as an Elder after they reach seventy years old. The advice that Buffet gives now and Drucker did in the last twenty years of his life was the advice of someone has seen much and has taken a virtuous path along the way. It’s in this virtuousness that direction can flow and we can hone or skills to move down that path.
Everyone has access to an Elder. Finding one is easy. The question you have to answer is are you willing to make sacrifices to live up to the teachings that you learn?
Josh Patrick
Leave a Comment » | Collaboration, Ethics, Uncategorized, Value Creation, Wealth Management | Tagged: elders, virtuous circle, Virtuous path | Permalink
Posted by stage2
Protecting our elders….first, do no harm
May 22, 2010When our elders have significant health issues we are often left un-prepared to deal with what comes our way. Part of what we do is work with our Clients around the issues that surround their death. We tend to work in the abstract, and don’t spend a lot of time talking about parents and what needs they might have as they get older.
In addition, if our parents need service and life changes quickly we haven’t put together a check list of what we should be doing. Since these check lists are rarely done, and if they are, the likely won’t cover the issue that may come up.
I’m thinking that it makes more sense for us to think in general terms about having a macro plan that can be used in any circumstance that appears. It’s important that we have the phone number of your local Visiting Nurse Association as well as asking for a social worker as soon as a parent is admitted to the hospital. Both of these groups are prepared to help if the worst happens.
Today we live far away from our parents. Because of this, many of us aren’t in a position to make fast decisions, or in some cases decisions at all about what’s best for our elders.
I believe it’s important that when possible we also have our parents or elders take a leading role in what’s going to happen. They need to be part of any conversation that happens around their health care and where they will live if they’re not able to return home.
Often, fast action appears to be needed. In my experience we always have time to take a breath and slow the entire process down. Or, slow it down a little bit. When hasty decisions are made they often are regretted in the very near future.
As with all health care issues, there needs to be an advocate involved. If you’re too involved find a friend you trust and ask them to act as an advocate on both your part as well as for your loved elder. This person can often bring sanity and wisdom to the situation.
In the past I’ve been a fan of detailed disaster plans. I’m realizing that with detail we often will have written the wrong plan. I’m now starting to believe that having a general plan is best. The general plan can have key phone numbers, but specific scenario planning should be left out.
As with most things in life, simple is better than complex.
Josh Patrick
Leave a Comment » | Ethics, Risk Management, Uncategorized | Tagged: disaster planning, elders, medical advocates | Permalink
Posted by stage2
End of life….sadness or opportunity….or both
May 20, 2010The business that I’m in often contains conversations about us dying. We seem to have these conversations in the abstract and rarely do we have to face the reality that people die and there are a host of issues that goes along with it.
Our business does a good job of dealing with the financial aspects of death, but we don’t do as good a job with the psychological and family legacy aspects. When a family calls or when we’re working with a family who has a loved one who is sliding to another world I think it’s important for us to help our Clients make adjustments to their new situation.
Whether the person is the one who’s dying or their family, a certain amount of blunt conversation as well as sympathetic listening is important. It’s important for us to understand the message behind the message. We need to listen carefully to hear what other people are saying.
The hospice literature talks about those who are close to death will often not make a lot of sense and do speak in metaphors. If we pay attention to the metaphors that are loved ones are using, we might help them make the passage from this life a little easier.
The reason I’m writing this post now is because my wife is now starting to deal with end of life issues with her parents. This is such a difficult time for her family. And, at the same time there are incredible opportunities for the family story and legacy to be carried on to future generations.
All of us are left with legacies by those who have proceeded us. If we pay attention to the final messages and information that’s passed on, we can build family structures that are enduring and honor those who have recently left.
Our families are tribes. In all tribes there needs to be a leader who carry’s on the traditions of the tribe. If there are no traditions or no one willing to carry on the tribe will die and hopefully be re-born at some time in the future.
I really like the term seventh generation. This is where we think about our actions and leadership has upon those who will be born seven generations from now. With these actions we want to bring pride and a story. Or, at least, I’m hoping that’s what we bring.
This post is both sad and has hope at the same time. I’m hoping the hope wins out over the sadness.
Josh Patrick
Leave a Comment » | Ethics, Uncategorized, Value Creation, Wealth Management | Tagged: 7th generation, death, Legacy, opportunity | Permalink
Posted by stage2
Art and practice produce the extraordinary
May 19, 2010I’ve been reading the book Lynchpin by Seth Godin. The purpose of his book is to help us find the artist that exist within all of us. His thesis is that if we’re to be happy and productive we need to find the artist within us.
I’ve been thinking about what is art and how does it manifest itself in different ways in different people as a result of reading Seth’s book. I’ve come to the conclusion that art is how we put things together in the world. This is especially true if our art is combining things and getting a much better result than if we just do one thing at a time.
For example, when I work with a business owner I think there is as much art as there are facts and science. The ah ha’s come when we combine several different strategies to produce a result that is something that would not be expected by just taking one strategy at a time. It’s the combinations that add incredible value. These solutions often feel like magic.
An additional part of the art we practice comes from Malcom Gladwell’s contention that it takes 10,000 hours of practice before you become an expert at whatever you do. When you become a strategic expert in a particular area, paying attention to how you do things moves to the back of your mind. This leaves you free to concentrate combining strategies and tactics to provide outcomes that is art.
In my particular case it’s taken a long time to reach the point where my work is art. I suspect that it takes almost everyone a similar amount of time. We might all have basic abilities, but it’s how we hone those abilities through practice and combination that produces the extraordinary. And, I for one really like the extraordinary.
Josh Patrick
Leave a Comment » | Collaboration, Ethics, Uncategorized, Value Creation | Tagged: art, Excellence, extraordinary results | Permalink
Posted by stage2
The secret sauce: personal passion
May 18, 2010
At Stage 2 Planning, we strive to make our Clients lives life better. We have found that those who have personal passion and spend a significant time working toward that passion have happier lives than those who don’t.
You might ask yourself, “What does personal passion have to do with a wealth management firm?” In many respects, the answer would be: “Nothing.” But, in a major way, there is a big connection between passion and having a better life that we can help you with— and that’s helping you have a clear mind and fewer worries about your finances as you go on your life’s journey.
If we understand what are your passions in life, we can help you understand the funding that will be necessary for you to fulfill your wants and dreams. When we combine the hard numbers with the soft wishes of your life, we provide you with better advice—the type of advice that will be from your point of view, not ours.
Why Do I Care About Having You Know My Passion?
Some of you might have no interest in having us help you integrate your personal wishes and passions with your financial needs. Those who do have an interest will find that we can serve as a sounding board, assisting you in making decisions that will help you either spend more time pursuing your passions or finding any time to spend on them at all.
When Clients ask us to help them with putting passion and finances together, the first thing we’ll ask is if they have a personal mission statement. Mission statements are not only for businesses. They also are for individuals.
When you develop a personal mission statement, we suggest you use the following rules:
- Keep your mission statement short. (No more than seven or eight words)
- Have a personal mission statement that allows you to answer with a simple “yes” or “no” as to whether you’re staying on track with it.
- Make sure your mission statement is broad enough that your personal passion can be accommodated by your mission.
- Find ways to let others know what your mission statement is, especially those who can help you fulfill your passion in life.
This Is Really Hard; Do I Really Have To Do It?
In life, there aren’t many rules about what you do and don’t have to do. But, if you decide to spend some time working on defining your passion and developing a personal mission statement to support it, you’ll get a huge payoff.
Josh Patrick
Leave a Comment » | For Business Advisors, For Business Owners, Uncategorized, Value Creation, Wealth Management | Tagged: passion, personal mission statement, vision | Permalink
Posted by stage2
