Thinking Out Loud!: 2026

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Want to Win the Second Half? Look in the Box!

Every year, I spend a few months engaged in a deep learning project where I consume books, podcasts, articles, etc. on a particular topic in order to gain understanding, create content, and develop a coaching system around it. This past Spring, I focused on Winning in the Second Half. In other words, as a slightly older gentleman, I got to thinking out loud about how I can better help mature professionals that want to create and maintain relevance and significance in the latter parts of their careers!

So why does this even matter? In my research I found that 67% or workers do not expect to stop working at age 65. Currently, almost 20% of the workforce is made up of workers age of 65+ (it was only 12% in the year 2000). Reasons for older workers remaining employed full-time vary but research points to a general aging of the population as Boomers hit 60+, however, younger generational cohorts have remained steady or declined. Also, data points to decreasing labor participation rates among younger workers, especially males.

Obviously, there is a real advantage for older workers to remain in the workforce due to their vast experience, professional/emotional maturity, and opportunities for cross mentorship between younger and older workers. Unfortunately, employers do not always share similar views – more about that in my next blog!

So, what are those of us in the thundering gray herd to do? One thing I discovered in my research is that this issue of finding new ways to remain significant in the Fall season of our lives is now a multi-million dollar industry! I was shocked at the number of books, podcasts, articles and even conferences that have emerged over the past 5 years around this topic. What was once a niched content area has now exploded!

In the next few blogs, I will present several key strategies that I curated from this important content, however, I discovered that before we initiate a series of strategies, we need to set our intention. We have to discover “what’s in the box!” This concept is shared by entrepreneur, author, and speaker Bob Buford who wrote a wonderful book entitled, Half Time: Moving from Success to Significance.

Bob presents a real-world business case-study that is an oldie but a goodie (kind of like me!). He describes a time during the mid-1980s when the Coca-Cola company worked with one of the leading corporate strategists of the time, Mike Kami. Mike was working with a new generation of Coke execs who were excited about a new and improved formula for Coca-Cola. Mike introduced an insightful thought exercise to the executives by asking, “What's in the Box?” in terms of this initiative. The leaders shared they had their chemists generate a new formula that tasted better than old Coke. They based their decision on blind taste tests, customer feedback, etc. They boldly proclaimed that “Great Taste” was “In the Box” and launched the new formula with a flashy and expensive ad campaign.

For those of you not around during the 80’s (bless your heart!) the result was an unmitigated disaster for the Coca-Cola company! Days after New Coke was introduced, the company stock fell by 3% and a month later Coke stock fell to 6%. This was quite a contrast to the overall market that gained 3.8% during the same time frame. The new formula was introduced on April 23^rd, 1985, and was off the shelves by July 11^th that same year.

Obviously, the Coca-Cola execs engaged Mike again to help them out of the mess they had created. Again, Mike asked them, “What's in the Box?” The answer this time, however, was an insightful "American Tradition!" The leaders understood that they were messing with an institution as American as mom and apple pie! The result of this new epiphany was that Wall Street rallied almost immediately as soon as the now branded Coca-Cola Classic was brought back to consumers.

Bob reveals that the moral of the story is that putting the RIGHT WORD in the BOX (i.e. Coca-Cola's CORE MISSION) allowed the company to recover! This is the same concept that allows us to remain relevant in our Second Half. Simply stated, if you want to BE relevant in the second half, you have to DEFINE what relevance you will pursue! In my own career journey, I called this “Getting to CORE.” What follows is a suggested exercise adapted from Bob’s book to help you IDENTIFY, “What’s in The Box.”

1.Look at following list and note the SACRIFICES you have made to care for, develop, and/or maintain the individual, things, and activities listed. You can choose to focus on Career or Life focused priorities.

Career Focused:

Impact Creativity Prestige Progression Compensation

Respect Expertise Recognition Mentorship Significance

Flexibility Autonomy Leadership Influence Decision Making

Life Focused:

Spouse/Partner Children Career Health

House Vacation/Travel Education Exercise

Hobbies Service Faith Other

2. Next, review your list and isolate two or three categories that stand out as

being the most important. Which ones are not willing to give up? Write them down.

3.Drill down further. What specifically about your career that motivates you?

Is it money, mentoring younger team members, setting strategy, making an impact, creating something of your own? What is critical for you in terms of Life priorities?

4.Narrowing down your priorities is helpful but it is not sufficient to win in the Second Half. Eventually, you will have to CHOOSE ONE! Otherwise, your SECOND Half will become a repeat of the FIRST. You will be influenced by other agendas and shiny objects because you have not established your own “ONE THING!” that is in the Box. You are still not at CORE.

5.The goal is to place ONE priority “In the Box” but HOLD for a bit. Take some time with it. Let it marinate in your active awareness. Talk with your partner and trusted mentors and friends about how this will manifest for you.

6.When you are ready, move your CORE priority into the box. When I went through this exercise, I identified progression, impact, and personal success. What I eventually landed on was “IMPACT”. My reason was that I had already achieved the other two. In my Second Half, I wanted to work toward something that would make everything else matter. Your reasons will be your own, but it is vital to be clear on them. As I recently heard speaker and author Tony Robbins, say, “REASONS come FIRST, answers come second.”

The paradox of identifying “that one thing” or “getting to core” is that putting that one thing in the box will start to break down walls and barriers. As personal productivity expert David Allen shares, it opens up creative thinking. When you really understand the WHY of your Second Half, it expands your thinking of how to obtain the life you want. You are able to prioritize and make decisions that are strategic to your Second Half. You would think this process would be CONSTRICTIVE, but it is NOT, it is actually quite EXPANSIVE because you are now in the realm of POSSIBILITIES versus PROBABILITIES.

My challenge is to complete this thought exercise for yourself. What did you discover? What new information emerged? What possibilities does this start to open up? Winning in the Second Half of life requires us to invest in a number of new ways of thinking, new strategies, new commitments but it is critical we start with defining that one word. As Bob Buford shares, “if we do not choose (and start) with that ONE THING that belongs in the box, life’s inertia will do it for you!”

As always if I can help you get to CORE. If I can assist you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I invite you to contact me.

Yours in leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with Maxwell Leadership^TM

Certified DISC Profile System Consultant and Gallup Strengths Coach

Certified Designing Your Life Coach

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

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NOTE: No AI Agents were harmed in the creation of this blog. This content reflects the actual research, thoughts, and considerations of the intended audience of the author – who just so happens to be a human being!

Sunday, March 29, 2026

As a leader, there are three burdens you need to be prepared to carry.

I was communicating with a colleague a few weeks ago about one of our student clients who had earned a great new role. I reminded her about the role she played in helping that student earn that victory and how her investment in that student was a strong factor in that success. Later, it got me thinking out loud that as a coach and by caveat, leaders, that for other people to be successful, we have to be willing to take on their burdens, at least in part. This is not to say that the people we coach and lead are burdensome in any way shape or form. They do not ask us to take on their burdens, but there is a clear transformation when we do. Let me explain through a parable I once heard.

It was a cold winter day when a young girl and her grandfather were walking along a deserted beach. She cherished these moments with her grandfather because she knew he had lived an active and hard life spent in service to his family and others and respected his strength and integrity. He rarely spoke of his own troubles, but the somber weather had put her in a somber mood, so breaking the companionable silence she asked, “Grandfather, what is the heaviest burden in life?” The old man considered this question a moment and with a look of love and a bit of sadness in his voice simply said, “Not to have one.” Not to have one . . . .

Every time I read that story, I am struck by its fundamental truth but applicable complexity. I believe that human beings are not designed to live singular lives. Granted I am all for developing a strong sense of independence and self-reliance, however, in doing so, we are equipped to help others. A life lived solely for ourselves in reality is a type of existence that is absent from any true contribution.

So how can we know what burden to take on? As speaker and author John Maxwell shares, when attempting to clarify what is important to you, try answering these three questions:

What do you sing about – what gives you joy, what do you truly enjoy doing?
What do you dream about – what is the future you want for yourself?
What do you cry about – what pulls at your heart, what or who do you develop a burden for?

Now some of my colleagues in the coaching community may disagree with me but as a coach, when I work with a client, in essence, I agree to take on a degree of their burden for a time. These “burdens’ can run the gamut of lack of clear direction, a desire to improve their leadership effectiveness, or lack of confidence in themselves. Granted, the client is ultimately responsible for their own success, but I have noticed a little empathy and help along the way will move the client to a state of success. I believe the same is true for leaders in that from time to time you may need to be called upon to lighten the load of three key burdens your team member is carrying.

A heavy Heart – Kouzes and Posner in their book, The Leadership Challenge share that one of the key roles of a leader is to provide hope. This is especially important in this time of large-scale layoffs and a challenging job market. In fact, Gallup just released a report that employee well-being is at an all-time low. Granted you may be worried about your own prospects in such conditions but as leaders it is vital that you “encourage the heart” as Kouzes and Posner point out. Check in with your team members, keep them informed, but always encourage them and commit to doing everything you can to advocate for them. You should take on this burden ABUNDENTLY.

A troubled Mind – Similar to the above, team members may be concerned and confused as to their prospects. They may also be struggling with how to handle a difficult work problem or a challenging team member. This is where your “leader as coach” skills can have significant impact where you ask powerful questions to help the team member see beyond their current situation and help them problem-solve their way forward. This is not only encouraging, but it also empowers them to handle similar situations more effectively. A distracted team member is not a focused team member. You should take on this burden DELIBERATELY.

A demanding Load – We are all being asked to do more with less resources. Not only are we being asked to do our original work but now take on that of others are backfills are not replaced. Added to this is the press of adding Generative AI skills to help increase productivity. Recent studies by Korn Ferry, Gallup, and McKinsey all point out that the adoption and pivot to AI driven productivity tools is one of the leading stress points in the workplace. In this case, you as the leader must be judicious in what you take on. Likely you still have your own every growing To-Do list to attend to but if there is a task or process you have a great deal of experience with, perhaps you can agree to take on a task or two just to help the team member get a little more caught up. You should take on this burden STRATEGICALLY.

Now here is the kicker, as a leader you can take on the burdens of Mind, Heart, and Load but it does not work the other way. Whether you like it or not, you cannot turn around and dump your burdens on your team members. That is not what they are there for. Similarly, as a coach, no matter how bad my day has gone or what dumpster fire I am experiencing, the client will never know. As leaders, we need to learn to compartmentalize what is happening to us so that it does not burden others. That is just a price of leadership.

At the end of the day, it is important to understand that the burdens we take on are freely done so by our own volition. People did not ask us to take them on; we just do so to make a difference in the lives of others because that is what leaders worth following do. In fact, key moments in history can be traced back to someone taking on the burden of someone else’s lack in justice, resources, freedom, etc. That is the power and the caution of the old man’s words, when we take on a burden it makes life worth living. The converse is also true. Our team members are not burdens; in fact I have made it a point to let the people in my orbit know that they are never bothering me! When we agree to take on the mantle of leadership we become, in some part, responsible to and for them.

I encourage you to ask yourself, what burdens are impacting your teams right now that you can address abundantly, deliberately, or strategically? Inventory each team member and consider or even ask what would be of greatest help in the here and now?

As always, if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I invite you to contact me.