Fast Company Article - July Melinda Re

Hammonds, Keith H. "The Teacher: Shoshana Zuboff". Fast Company. July:August 1999. Pg. 147-150.

The Odyssey - A Journey For Change

This article is very similar in theme to the article I showcased for June. The article is about the Odyssey, a Harvard Business School offering calculated to provoke midlife introspection and, in some cases, a career redirection for high-powered executives who are trying to answer the question, "how much is enough"? The course instructor is Shoshana Zuboff, a social psychologist.

Zuboff takes the participants through two weeks of exploration - first among themselves, and later with their spouses. For most, it's an emotional trip. For some it's a life-changing epiphany. For all, it's a time to wrestle with "enoughness".

Zuboff is interviewed in the article. She talks about some of her techniques and the lessons that people learn in the Odyssey program.

She has participants put a dollar figure on how much is enough. Most of them keep moving the figure up as they achieve more. At first it might have been $1 million, but now it's $10 million. Zuboff feels that as long as someone doesn't think they have enough money, they don't ask the important questions of their lives, they just keep striving for riches.

Zuboff uses personal reflection as a tool to have participants look at their lives. They are asked to write down the important experiences of their lives. This is not about discovering "who I am". It's about discovering "who I'm becoming". By examining the dynamics that have shaped their lives, they can begin to see the change that will shape the next phase of their lives.

The participants are asked to examine their identities. According to Zuboff, by midlife many people are so imbedded in their old identity, they can't imagine other aspects of themselves or how to make changes to become a different person.

Some Odyssey participants are drawn to the course to help them overcome a crisis situation: the loss of a loved one, or the selling of a business. Others come with a crisis situation that is more subtle: they just don't feel the excitement they used to feel. Whatever brings a person to Odyssey, the goal is to show them that crisis is often the "crucible for life's true riches" and to help them on their way.

I asked colleagues if they would find benefit from participating in a course like Odyssey. They mentioned that they didn't think the pursuit of huge salaries and/or profits are the problems in extension (no kidding - we're not in this for the money!). But they do feel that some people may stay in positions where they are not satisfied or put in too many hours unnecessarily just out of habit or fear of change.

They all said that they would love to participate in a life examination experience. After some initial shocked looks when I asked if they would consider including their spouses, they said it would be helpful, because any changes they would want to make or life directions they would like to pursue would have to include their spouses.

Doesn't this sound like a good offering for Annual Conference 2000?

-- Anonymous, September 07, 1999