Glam Jobs - Should Youth Still Be Taking on the Risk?


 

CEO tenure plunged on the average 20% from 6 years to 4.8 years.

Gunning to Be CEO

Gossip is in overdrive if Goldman Sachs head David Solomon will hang onto his position, at least with the current job description. Among the scenarios is that he could be saddled with a co-leader to "help" him out.

Maybe even the most ambitious shouldn't gun for the big business CEO slot. With that kind of ambition, instead maybe do a startup or become a player where the money is but not that kind of high-profile responsibility. Media is configured to pick up the stumbles for clickbait. Bad news sells.

Sports Maybe Not a Meritocracy

Youth may also be less focused on starting the journey to become a football coach. The aura of a Vince Lombardi type career could be losing its wattage.

There has been the racial discrimination lawsuit "Brian Flores, et al. v. NFL et al." In July it got the get-go to move forward to trial. Wigdor is representing the plaintiffs and Paul Weiss the main defendant - the NFL. What hovers over that one is that maybe talent in strategy and passion aren't enough to succeed in football coaching. The safe harbor of a meritocracy? Maybe not.

(Seeming) Fall of the Hero

And now there is the tragedy, at least to us long-term New England Patriots fans, of the seeming downfall of coach Bill Belichick. There too gossip is in overdrive.

The buzz is that Patriots owner Robert Kraft should and will replace him midseason. There have been 2 major losses, last weekend to the New Orleans Saints (34 - 0) and before that to Dallas (38 - 3).

What is causing the most pain among watchers of this downward trajectory is that Belichick himself seems to have detached from the game. He's not there. With great empathy some of us are asking: So, where are you, Bill Belichick? What kind of ether does someone wind up in after so much pressure to win? Should we be questioning the sports ethos of winning?

Knowledge Work, After Jumping through So Many Hoops

Meanwhile, other supposedly wonderful professional slots are looking less a fit for the ambitious who need to make a living. Rule out the trustfund kids and Nepo babies. Just consider the one-time willingness of youthful strivers to jump through so many hoops, from an elite education to grueling interviews to impossible hours, for those Knowledge Worker positions. 

The Wall Street Journal looked under the hood of the robust September 2023 job numbers. It documented this reality: White-collar positions are harder to hold and then, after getting the boot, harder to land another one.

Keep up with professional anonymous networks Blind, Reddit and Fishbowl and the employment insecurity is obvious. Once they are knocked out of those white-collar boxes more of my clients are considering the trades ranging from utility employment to long-distance driving. 

Glam on Short Time

Glam is coming with increased risk. Being a lawyer in those large prestigious firms, a management consultant with the brandname firms or a broadcast producer - you could be on short time. And it isn't you who will decide the timeframe. 

Generative AI likely will loop into that decision. Also values are in flux. Americana runs on values. That goes back to the kind of economy the founding-father Puritans put together. Here is my article on values mutation, published in O’Dwyer Public Relations.

I help with all your communications. That ranges from coaching to strategy and research to writing and editing. Complimentary consultation. Please contact Jane Genova at 203-468-8579 (texting and phone) and janegenova374@gmail.com.

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