This month’s cover story on retirement and succession planning hits uncomfortably close to home for this 62-year-old reporter. Like a medical student who suddenly begins feeling the symptoms for every disease he studies, I found myself asking myself the same questions that I posed in the article: How do I get myself and the operation I love to where we need to be? What are my family’s retirement plans? And what will I do after I leave a job that has me regularly—and happily—in the shop from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. lots of weekdays?
I suspect that many of you share the same surprise that the end of your career is suddenly within sight. For me, the signs have popped up in lots of ways. Among them: my first surgery since age 14. Awareness that I lived through things my under-30 coworkers only read in history books. And finally, getting an AARP card (which I’d be using for my discount at Dunkin’ Donuts if it weren’t for that surgery).
For a guy who didn’t want to admit he was middle-aged until he turned 50, all this is a surprise. And of course, it’s also a reason why I always feel guilty when I read guides that said I should have begun retirement planning years ago.
Better late than never, for me and for you. That’s why I hope this month’s feature will spur you to start or speed up the process. But as you work on this next phase of life, keep in mind that the great thing about LBM is that you never have to abandon it entirely; you can just redirect how you participate in it. In fact, your post-retirement future can make just as big an impact on our industry as all those years you’ve spent so far.
We all know this industry needs to recruit workers at all levels. It’s a huge, long-term challenge, and something that never gets the attention it deserves. As a retiree, you’ll have more time to provide that attention. Likewise, our ranks are full of young people who could benefit from talking freely to an expert who isn’t their boss. You can be that person.
Years ago, I worked at a hardware store that had two retired products distributors on staff. While the rest of us ran around constantly, they pretty much sat in one place and gave customers expert advice on which products to buy and how to solve particular home improvement problems. Their willingness to share what they knew was a huge reason why that store did so well.
I’m now working on ways I can be a success at succession planning. As you do the same, think of how you can pay back an industry that’s given you so much.
