Retirement by Design Named One of the Best Retirement Books of 2020!

I have such exciting news to share with you! The Wall Street Journal selected my book, Retirement by Design, as one the six best books of 2020 on aging and retirement! As an author, I’m always happy to get a good review, but this was an unexpected and thrilling honor. And I’m deeply grateful that the WSJ, and my readers, are finding value in this book.

 

The reader feedback I receive shows that, after so many months of the pandemic, many people, young and old, are contemplating what retirement means, when it happens, and how it might look. The very concept of retirement is being revolutionized. There is a growing awareness that the traditional linear career trajectory of education, then work and family, then retirement, is being replaced by individualized life and career patterns that might take any shape or direction. People may seek education, work, family, travel, volunteering, adventure, and retirement (permanent or temporary) at any point and in any order during their increasingly long lives. Fortunately, while more senior professionals may have the most immediate interest in the book, its creative, design-focused approach is adaptable enough to accommodate any career and retirement scenario.

 

The holidays are coming up fast. Retirement by Design would be a great gift to yourself if you are starting to think about retiring, or for any friend, family member or colleague who is (or should be). Its workbook format makes it highly versatile. Some people are meeting with a few friends to work through the book together; some couples are buying two copies, working on each chapter separately and then together; and some firms are buying copies for all their senior professionals, often in connection with a program focused on succession and retirement. If you find a creative way to use the book, I would love to hear from you!

 

You can learn more about Retirement by Design and find purchasing information here or on my website, where you can also find many other resources about retirement transitions for individuals and retirement processes for firms. And do let me know if I can help you or your firm with advice, programs, presentations or coaching on retirement issues.

 

Please note: While this post deals primarily with my retirement consulting practice, I still work on mentoring and sponsorship as well. There has been a resurgence of interest in mentoring, in large part because of the challenges presented by the pandemic both to learning & development and to relationship building in a totally remote work environment. Please contact me if I can help you in any way with your mentoring practices or programs.

 

Here are some upcoming events and recently posted resources regarding my work that may interest you.

Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor’s Forum, Nov. 17:

I’m delighted to be giving the keynote address at the Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor’s Forum. This year’s Forum is called “Retirement: Who, Me?” You can register for the program here. Registration is free for Philadelphia Bar Association members and there is a small charge for non-members.

Professional Development Institute, Dec. 3-4:

On December 3, I’ll be presenting at the 2020 Professional Development Institute along with Carrie English, Michelle Nash, Andy Hales, and Marilyn Tucker, on “Balancing Act: The Role of Professional Development in Retirement Programming and Succession Planning.” You can learn more about the conference and register here.

Book review of Retirement by Design:

Ronnie Fox, a distinguished employment and partnership lawyer, recently published an important book on lawyer retirement and succession in the UK, Partner Retirement in Law Firms (Globe Law and Business Ltd, 2020). He reviewed my book, Retirement by Design, in the July 2020 issue of Modern Lawyer (subscription required).

Podcasts and Interviews:

In her podcast, XL Legal, Shelley Appleby-Ostroff interviewed me about mentoring and sponsorship. Listen to the podcast, “Building Powerful Mentoring Relationships,” here.

I had a lively discussion of Retirement by Design, and applying design thinking to create a purposeful life, with Lisa Cypers Kamen on her terrific podcast Harvesting Happiness. You can listen to our conversation on several platforms: https://bit.ly/tn052720, https://bit.ly/GP052720, https://bit.ly/iT052720, or https://bit.ly/Sc052720.

“Is Now the Right Time to Retire?” Wendy Green interviewed me on Hey! Boomer about Retirement by Design and the many considerations that go into timing and planning your retirement. You can watch the interview here.

Lisa Horowitz interviewed me about Retirement by Design for the National Association of Women Lawyers Book Club. You can listen to the interview here.

Article

If you need to talk with senior partners about retirement and succession, this article I wrote for Legal Management, published by the Association of Legal Administrators, offers some practical advice: “Making Retirement Discussions with Your Senior Partners More Productive and Succession More Effective”