In thinking strategically and creatively about your future, there is much to learn from Steve Jobs; – his life, the stories he told and the insights that he publically shared as part of his Stanford Commencement address on June 12, 2005.

The story Steve told about the first phase of his life, he called ‘connecting the dots’ ; – he described  his personal background, why he dropped out of college,  and how his experiences during this early phase of his life shaped who he was  and what he went on to do. 

“Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life”

The second story he told, he positioned as ‘love and loss’; and described the powerful learnings from finding what he loved to do early in life, getting fired from a company he started, meeting his wife, starting again and ending up back at Apple.

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

…“I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle”.

His third story was about ‘death’, and the power of using the inevitability of death as a tool to help make important choices in life.

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart”

…“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary”.

RETIREMENT equates to death. One of the great lessons of ageing and witnessing ageing is the impact that retirement has on so many people, particularly men.  The human mind must always be stimulated.  It is dangerous to leave the workforce if you have no other interests.  A busy mind is crucial to life. 

As featured in the Herald Sun article by Jeff Kennett, Friday, June 3rd, 2011, Life too short to stop work, “no one should retire.  Get that concept out of your mind.  At one or many stages of your life prepare for change that you want – and make it happent”.  “If you remain mentally and physically active you will reamin more relevant to those around you and you will ward off  a lot of illnesss”.

Jeff’s words of wisdom resonate with us at act3, where we witness daily, the benefits to both the individual and the organisation, of helping accomplished people in business and the professions to plan a personally and professionally meaningful future, make the right next move or create the right opportunity – within and beyond careers.  The earlier you start, the greater the benefits!

As roughly 44 million baby boomers start to hit retirement age, the problem of how and when to step aside is becoming a hot-button issue, even in the elite professions.

As catpured within the NY Times article – Easing Out the Gray-Haired.  Or Not. -  ”very few people are so skilled they can’t be replaced by a younger, more current practitioner”, and “nothing is harder than telling fellow partners that their best days are past”.

The article reinforces the benefits and importance of proactive ‘next act’ planning.

In launching the HBS Crossroads: Discovering the Path Ahead Program, HBS Managing Director Marketing, Executive Education, Charles Breckling, thanked act3 for the role they played in sharing lessons learned, insights and experience, that have helped shape the program design.

Following an invitation from HBS, Craig Perrett, Director act3 visited Boston in September 2010 where he shared act3s approach, insights and experience working with senior executives as they navigate significant career and life transitions.  As part of this trip, Craig also met with other thought leaders including Ron Heifetz (Harvard Kennedy School) and Manfred Kets de Vries (who he met post HBS in Paris).    A consistent message from these thought leaders is that what they are seeing in the work they are doing with major organisations,  is a much greater emphasis on Executives searching for more meaning from their careers.  They saw act3 planning as a great enabler to help individuals find meaning in their career and life, and help organisations gain insight to create a culture where people really want to work.

Noted English academic Sir Ken Robinson, has a very simple proposition that people do their best when they do something they love. In his best selling book ‘The Element’, Robinson shares examples of people combining their passion and their capability, and describes this state as being in your “Element”. This idea completely resonates with us and supports our act3 planning philosophy and state of mind.

Manfred comments on the interconnectedness of personal and professional lives, and the benefits of a combination of individual and group coaching.

There is much synergy between Dianne Von Furstenberg’s lessons on running a global business and act3′s approach to personal strategic planning; – know yourself, create a vision for where you want to go next and develop an action plan for reaching your potential.

As featured in the Australian Financial Review Magazine April 2011 – Diane Von Furstenberg; fashion designer, business women and women’s rights advocate, shares her insights on the lessons of running a global business second time round.  She says there is one key difference, one key similarity.  The difference is clarity. “I know now you can go nowhere without clarity.  What it is you want to do? How? You have to see it; it has to be clear.  Once you have clarity, you have strategy, and once you have clarity and strategy you have success”.

The similarity is a lesson from her mother. “Fear is not an option. Insecurity is a waste of time.  The most important relationship you have in life is the one with yourself.  In order to have that and to like yourself, you have to be very honest”.

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