How to "retire" - fashionably

It's a Sunday. I thought about someone I have not been in touch with for a long while. Realised I have yet to connect on LinkedIn with the boss who really gave me my best break in my career. Guess LinkedIn was not as fashionable back then in the early 2000s. I was the first employee of O2 in Asia back when Tim Copper hired me to manage the gateway business in Hong Kong for British Telecoms. I knew nothing of gateways.

I was meant to be hired for mobile internet. That I did not know either. There was no such talent then and that is why they thought the next closest thing would be desktop internet so my being the Yahoo! country manager for Singapore and ASEAN came closest to which. There was no other contender. How lucky to be in such a breakthrough transition or transition in breakthrough.

I soon realised I was not cut out for handling ONE customer and that was all we had. I was not even chartered to find new customers, but to handle the one. One fine day, Tim called me and said I had to fly to Taiwan to meet O2 UK lawyers at a factory called HTC. Bingo! My next career was built there and then, after 3 days of marathon meeting about a topic I knew nothing of.

But in the same meeting / trip, I asked for the rights to sell the O2 PDA phone in 4 countries (eventually closed 8) without even knowing what I was signing up for. It was heavy, had some antenna sticking out, one year late and seemingly buggy (due to Microsoft development). But "it works" was the slogan I coined for it. Because for the first time, you will be able to sync your corporate windows email with THE mobile phone.

Yet three and a half years later, having launched the 3rd generation - more power in a smaller form factor with no antenna sticking out - I quit. When you turn 40, you get the first experience of your eyesight misaligned and then you also ask yourself "What do I really want?" Thanks to our then CTO, Sylvian who said "Chris, it's just another phone." That is what you can expect from a "Hongkee" (Hong Kong national). Short, to the point, no-nonsense. It hit me! I submitted my resignation to a boss who took over from Tim. Someone I did not agree with anyway so that made it easy for my decision. 6 months notice and the condition was that I launched O2 in India, a market I resisted for years - for all the good reasons. By then O2 Asia Pacific scored revenue of US$300 million with no drop in price on the device ever.

I realised I was one year late in deciding to make a big change. I launched India, left and flew to New York on the influence of the TV series "Sex & the City" only to be told that New York was the wrong place to be, to look for a husband. I was 41.

I succeeded in passing off as a student at NYU pursuing a Masters in Psychology just to get a licence to stay in the States. 4 days a week, I was partying like some fresh campus girl - for the first time. After being in New York for 4 years, headhunters started hunting me down. I was very surprised how they found me ( I was definitely not checking in on LinkedIn or even remembered it existed) but there were more than one offer on the table and I took it as a sign to return. Landed in yet another job I had no prior experience for - CMO of Hong Kong CSL where I led a team of 90 and have direct P & L responsibility of half the company whilst managing the brand across all segments of the company. Lucky again because data was nascent and I had a bag of data device experience, bar none, even though arguably passe since I have been gone for more than 4 years (and I did not keep up).

Like many executives who have been very used to corporate perks - something as simple as your mobile phone being bought by your company and all set up for you to every flight being booked for you - you quickly realised all this is gone when you "RETIRE". I was thinking about this topic because executives in their 40s today who may not be ready to retire like I did are caught in a transition. So much talk about helping millennials, giving them opportunity in internships and all. What about professionals who have been caught unaware, unexpectedly that they had to leave years of service to a company they have been in for a long time or one they had wanted to stay for a long time more. It is one thing to retire by choice like I had done and another to be in a "limbo" of "should I?" or "am I not retired?"

I do not claim to have answers for all but I have been in the desert for a good 8 years and then I fast tracked like there is no tomorrow. So here's a few things I experienced which I hope could lend some headspace, given our lifespan will get longer and chances of people staying in one place has a higher probability of NOT happening.

1. State of mind

Successful people define their own jobs. You decide if you are retired, retiring or what being retired means. Subject to the number of dependents you have, you may need to recalibrate how you are going to manage your own outcome eventually. Making that call will define how you will be re-writing your story and re-drive you to your destination.

2. Harness your story

Re-craft your story. Your audience might not be the same any more once you leave your corporate profile. Connect the dots and almost re-brand yourself, even if you are not sure what's next for you. Well it's like developing a new elevator pitch.

3. What makes you tick

Many corporate executives get caught up with their company (politics included) and work routines, side-lining your personal interests and aspirations. Once you have stepped away from corporate, relish the time to figure out what do you really care about. It could well be a sector totally alien to you or it could be a higher cause you have not had time to contribute to. Make sure this is the core of your story.

4. Form new networks

Scan the landscape. Be purposeful about the networks or associations you want to be part of to align with what resonates with you. Connect with people who can help connect you with like-minded people. Participate actively in the communities that can add value to your story or leverage your positioning.

5. Re-educate yourself

It can be intimidating at times. You will find post corporate departure that you probably have to unlearn some of the paradigms you were so indoctrinated with in the past and re-learn. The more you put yourself out there, the more you engage, the more you realised what you did not know.

6. Re-position your voice

Easier said than done, your context changes or has to change. Be the force of change. Use your strength and experience (both life and work) to shape yourself as a thought leader. There isn't that backing you were used to. It's just you. Being able to express and articulate and being familiar with social media is an added asset as a means to an end.

7. Differentiate yourself

My personal push after 8 years of my 2nd retirement was "How can I be found, rather than find?" but for the new cause and passion and not as the ex-employee of some ex-company. I first uncovered a niche. You can't be quite sure it is a niche until you put it to a test. This is probably new territory to you. When we worked at corporate, a lot has been prescribed for you or it's a top down approach. Now you are starting from scratch.

How do you re-connect the dots, connect in a different fashion to bring your new story to life.

I was not looking when I returned to Singapore 4 years ago but I had a need to re-ground myself. By chance I stumbled into the startup world and as much as I thought I was obsolete, it re-energised me in a way I could not have planned for. The startup paradigm thought me that I could test-and-learn every step of the way. That I could try fast, fail fast or try, learn, adapt, iterate. This flexibility and speed resonated with me. It may not resonate with everyone. Find your own groove because you want to stay true to your strengths and your values. Then it is totally sustaining and the growth can be quite mind-blowing.

Dec 20, 2020 I turned 57 and I think even more of my younger peers who could already be in that limbo of wondering what's next for them regardless if they may get retired, want to retire or have been retired.

"Taking control of your destiny is far better than letting circumstances control you."

Start with baby steps. Surround yourself with relevant tribes. It is hard work but if you stay focussed, nothing can stop you from staying IN rather than out.

"To "retire" is to live (work) on your own terms."

Christina Teo, she1K

About me - Christina is the Chief Builder of she1K. 4 years ago, she started getting immersed in the startup space and 2 years ago she launched the world's 1st corporate executive angel syndicate with 70% female representation. One year ago she created the flagship program C-shark Tank and due to Covid took it 100% online 3 times a year providing the fastest acceleration for startups where top 3 gets funded and corporate executives get a crash course in angel investing by actually doing it. Just recently she was recognised as #LinkedinTopVoices 2020.