Baby stores

HR Magazine - Only Wet Babies Like Change. . - Books in Brief - Mary-Frances Winters - book review

By Mary-Frances Winters, Winters Group, 2002, 269 pages, List Price: $29.95, ISBN: 0-967-39931-9

During their careers, baby boomers have seen the nature of work transformed. That doesn't mean they're completely comfortable with these changes, says Mary-Frances Winters in her book, Only Wet Babies Like Change.

Winters, herself part of the baby boom generation and founder of the Winters Group, a Rochester, N.Y.-based consulting practice, notes that "today's work world doesn't look much like the one in which baby boomers started their careers." Boomers began working during the twilight of the industrial era when jobs were routine, predictable and secure. Workers still expected--if they did a good job--to remain with the same employer or in the same career track for life, Winters writes.

Then came the stock market crash of 1987. That event marked the end of the work world to which baby boomers aspired.

"Companies could no longer sustain the large bureaucracies they had built," writes Winters. "The easiest and most tangible way to cut costs was to reduce labor."

As a result, baby boomers were forced in mid-career to rethink expectations about the nature of work, success and job security. "Many of us will be working another 20 years," writes Winters. So, baby boomers must "reinvent ourselves, what we value and the livelihood we choose."

Self-discovery is the key. Among the steps Winters recommends:

* Examine your core values. She recommends reflecting on turning points, "those lessons learned, sometimes the hard way, that become the foundation of your belief system."

* Use self-assessment tools to help you understand your personality traits.

* Create a personal mission statement Articulate your special talents, your purpose in life and how you measure success.

* Work on enhancing strengths rather than improving weaknesses.

* Understand your response to change. "Change is hard," Winters acknowledges. But baby boomers can only find professional and personal fulfillment by adopting an "I'm ready" mind-set. That means accepting change as inevitable, having an updated resume, keeping your skills current and striving to rediscover what you're passionate about.

Inclusion of a book does not imply endorsement by SHRM or HR Magazine.