Malcolm Holmes’ Post

Aligning Your Personal Goals with Your Company’s Goals It's easy to lose sight of your personal goals when you're in a comfortable job. Before you know it, years can pass, and you realize you’ve been focused on the paycheck instead of hitting key milestones. Your personal and professional goals should run side by side. We need to keep our dreams and plans alive, actively working toward them. For instance, while working, decide that you’ll use your earnings to further your education, invest in your children’s future, or achieve other personal objectives. This approach makes you work for the job, and in turn, the job works for you. In the event of a layoff, retirement, or resignation, you’ll be thankful for the progress you made while you were employed. #goals #corporate #personaldevelopment #worklife

After over two decades as an HR professional, I’ve seen firsthand how little we plan for what happens after the 9-5, W-2 life. Even though I absolutely loved the companies and people I worked with over the years, I knew I was always vulnerable to the natural and inevitable corporate cycles–layoffs happen, leadership regimes change, economy shifts. No matter how “secure” I felt in my job or with my regular  paycheck, the truth is everything can change in an instant. We are seeing this now in the tech industry.    Beyond the external factors, my personal priorities also shifted—wanting to spend more time with loved ones, focus on my health and do what lights me up.  Which is why I am so passionate about helping people put mechanisms in place that can replace their incomes and give them more options to dream well before retirement. For me that was real-estate. For you, it could be something different. But it is essential to start asking yourself the questions now. If anyone wants to have a virtual coffee chat about how I set myself up beyond the 9-5, DM me. I’m happy to share what I learned and how it worked for me.

Embrace the excitement of change! Whether it's relocating, job change, upsizing/downsizing, etc., I'm here to help make that transition smoother for you. Moving closer to family or retiring? Let's turn it into a positive experience! #EmbraceTheChange #NewBeginning

“I had no job for months, no means to earn a living," he said. "I never thought it could happen to someone like me," he said. "It was the darkest time of my life," he said. These are the words of a friend who was laid off from his job last year. As I witness the struggles of friends and colleagues facing the uncertainty of unemployment, I contemplate my own vulnerability in the face of sudden change and loss. As Peter Drucker famously said, "This is the era of the 3 C’s - accelerated Change, overwhelming Complexity, and tremendous Competition." unemployment can strike any one of us at any time. However, this wouldn't be the first time that humanity has experienced economic instability, history will never let us forget the Great Depression, the Dot-com bubble burst, the global financial crisis of '07, and the recent pandemic that forced the economy to its knees. But let us also not forget that if there was struggle, sorrow, and strife, there was also resilience, reinvention, and renewal. Yes, hardships underscore the precariousness of our economic landscape, but they also catalyze monumental growth. Each of these dreadful crises was followed by a phenomenal breakthrough. So better days will come, and the darkness will give way to a burst of dazzling sunshine, but until then we will have to battle the 3Cs with 3Bs : 1. Breathe – Take a moment to pause and take stock of what you have and what you will need to move forward. Center yourself and make better decisions. 2. Believe – Believing in yourself is THE most powerful force. Have faith in your skills, values, and strengths, and above all believe that you can overcome your challenges and thrive. 3. Bounce back - And do it with renewed determination and resolve. Whatever you are facing, resilience will enable you to adapt, pivot, and explore. Fuel your growth from your experiences. This is not a quick fix to what we are going through, and No! it’s definitely not a guidebook, but it sure is a ray of light, bright enough to navigate the darkness! #Resilience #Renewal #BelieveInYourself #CareerJourney #PersonalGrowth #OvercomeChallenges #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerAdvice #Layoffs #WorkforceReduction #HumanResilience #CareerTransition #LinkedInPost #Inspiration

WHY do you assume I am semi retired ⁉️ Is it because my children have grown up now? It's true, when your children are older, parents: - have more freedom, - can focus more on YOU, - don't feel as guilty for putting YOU first. ☕ Or is it because I choose to be in a 4 day week job? ☕ Flexibility can make a world of difference to a creative mountain climber Mum! LEADERS - how flexible are you prepared to be? ☕ I choose to treat some Mondays like an extended Sunday 😉 ☕ I'm off for breakfast with my grown up kids in a bit! ☕ How are you starting your week? #leadershipmatters #flexibility

This conversation holds immense value, both for our personal life decisions and for shaping public policies. I'm deeply grateful for your efforts in bringing this crucial topic into the public sphere. The concept of pursuing varied professional careers over an extended lifespan resonates strongly with me, and I concur that it merits more than just discussion—a point also thoughtfully explored in the seminal work "The 100-Year Life" by Lynda Gratton and @AndrewScott. It's essential that we not only talk about these ideas but also develop practical strategies to navigate them. Professor Herminia Ibarra, your contributions to this field are incredibly significant for professionals everywhere. Having personally experienced the impact of your work, I can attest to its transformative power. It has enabled me to embark on a new chapter, discovering a renewed purpose for the years ahead. Who knows, this may not be the last time I find myself at such a crossroads. #reinventing #workingidentity #ikigai #careertransition #lifespan

A workplace where an employee can identify with more than1 of the 'Causes' listed below (or maybe even all of them) can argue that a collective of these issues then become a culture within the workplace. This is an incredibly unhealthy environment to work in. I think that the below can be a good guide for Employers to help eradicate these types of working cultures in the workplace. Health and Wellbeing of staff is integral to a business and especially to the performance you're expecting from them. If you employ/promote harmful cultures by ignoring issues in the workplace, you are feeding into 'The Signs' that may be displayed by employees. It not only harms individuals but it also harms the integrity of your business.

Happy #TBT Thursday, LinkedIn fam! Reflecting back to 2015 feels like a whirlwind journey of growth, resilience, and unexpected blessings. After a relocation to Houston, TX for what promised to be exponential career growth, things took an unexpected turn, leading to the end of my employment. But amidst uncertainty, I leaned heavily on gratitude. Each day, I penned a list of ten things I was grateful for, envisioning them as already part of my life – my new job, office, commute, manager, title, you name it. Fast forward, I found myself not just landing a new role, but stepping into a whole new world. Picture this: a newly built hospital, still under construction, and not a paved parking lot in sight. Talk about new beginnings! As the sixth team member hired, I was given the mission to shape the HR landscape of this budding rehab facility. Sourcing talent, crafting teams, and fostering a culture of growth became my daily pursuits. The lesson? Embrace change, cultivate gratitude, and watch how the universe unfolds new opportunities in the most unexpected places. Here's to embracing my next NEW journey, one grateful step at a time! 🚀 #Gratitude #NewBeginnings #CareerJourney #EmbraceChange #HRDirector

I've been reading a thought provoking book that was published 55 years ago but feels like it was meant or intend for the world we live in right now at work. The Peter Principle unpacks the idea that in a hierarchical organizations, which almost every place of employment is, every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence if given enough time within that organization. Incompetence isn't portrayed as a conscious choice or willful act in the book, but as an outgrowth of when employees are continually promoted until they reach a position where their skills and abilities no longer match the demands of their role. This leads to disorganization, dissatisfaction, and a deterioration in overall performance. Basically, employees are promoted to more and more elevated roles primarily based on their performance in their current roles, rather than their abilities to perform in the new roles. As a result, they ultimately reach a point where they are no longer competent or effective in their job. I wonder and worry about this more and more as we're about to see a whole generation of mass retirees, the Boomers, vacate a number of elevated or senior roles leaving gaps that will inevitably need to be filled. Whether or not their replacements, myself included, are consciously competent enough to handle the new roles will remain to be seen over the coming years. Fingers crossed🤞... #competent #capable #weekendreading

So quick back story. I was hired to run the South Atlantic team and was asked if I could coach and teach what I given. They said no fire them all and start over. So imagine for a second, coming in and having to fire and rehire basically everyone. But still keep that same quota. The pre written registration letter was done the night of my birthday a year ago. My thoughts were if I wake up in the morning feeling the same way I did the night before I’d drop the hammer. I woke up more angry than I was the night before. Human Interest was one of the best life lessons I’ve ever had on how NOT to treat people. It is run by a pure narcissist who doesn’t have the skillset to run a business. I don’t normally rant but this story needs to be shared. #whistleblower 🔥 Also at this point I’m sitting in the front of the plane on my international flight back the US and don’t really care what Rakesh thinks 😂 I’ve always prided myself on doing unto others as your would have them do unto you. The amount of churn that company has is MINDBLOWING. If you are ever in need of a good read, go check out their Glassdoor reviews. They are priceless. Very easy to tell what’s real vs a paid for good review. The way the put the fear of god in their employees is so heartless. I was fortunate to be in a position to leave them on my own decision, dispite having an equity share. The most comical thing about my short tenure with Human Interest was them hiring a gentleman named “Tim” who they canned 2 weeks after I jumped ship. That dude still doesn’t have a real job. He’s peddling (help sales people sell) content when he couldn’t hold a team meeting without everyone cringing. His metaphors still haunt me in my sleep. So for everyone’s viewing pleasure. This is my resignation letter from a year ago today. Thacker departure Tim: after much consideration and a lot of discussion with my wife I regretfully inform you of my resignation effective 5/4/2023 Although I love the vision that Human Interest has in the retirement plan space, I do not feel that this role best suits me or my best attributes as a team leader. After 25 years in the tech space, I can I can honestly say l've never felt how I currently do in any company I've ever worked for. I can't thank you enough for the opportunity but feel that the company is best served having someone else in my role whose personal vision is more aligned with the company moving forward. My character and integrity mean more to me than anyone could ever know. I've put my heart and soul into trying to fix the dumpster fire that I was handed on day one. I will be submitting my final expense report later today and would like for the payments for my expenses to not drag out and become an issue. I wish everyone the best of luck. Have a wonderful time on your cruise with your family. Sincerely, Michael Thacker Until next time. Cheers to my followers.