Do you feel like work after your retirement?

This is an email that I received from Thomas: “Do you feel like work after your retirement? I have a small task for you…. it is about optimizing the service desk in my company.” Oh yes, I do feel like work after my retirement. I have managed several service desks in my work life, I love to work with teams and find new ways of doing things. In addition I have known Thomas for more than twenty years. This is a wonderful opportunity.

We start the journey. With his teams, we develop a SWOT and we derive five actions in a two hour workshop, reviewing the process over a Gugi with coffee. I am confident that this service desk will end up being even more beneficial for the company of Thomas. And I will continue to engage to facilitate change, as much as I am asked for.

Have you read my mind? – I have always dreamt of founding my own company…

Thomas’ assignment came in well. I have always dreamt of founding my own company. At work I had loved to provide our research service as an enterprise within the enterprise – with our young team in Kraków. As a farewell for my retirement, the team gave me the book “Business Model You” by Tim Clark, Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur (campus 2012).

Yes, why not live my dream now?

Conceiving my company: What values do resonate with clients – and can I deliver?

This is the name of my new company: “consult & engage” (to conform to the legal requirements for registering a one man firm in Switzerland, the name has to be “Petra Peters Erb consult & engage”).

This is my value statement for consult & engage:

• Find a facilitator for change and innovation
• … leveraging my experience as a retired baby boomer,
• … benefiting from my motivation to engage beyond consulting.

And this is where I can deliver:

• Interests: Achieve results with teams of differing backgrounds. Have an open mind, discover new ground, analyze it, structure it, derive actions, engage to make things happen. (My blogs about traveling may illustrate my interest to discover, understand, structure and share).
• Personality: Intrinsically self motivated and interested. I love to bring my “I” into teams and to support them achieving results.
• Experience: Service management/operations (for IT and broader research service), sourcing and contract management, project management, agile management and development of international teams, business process management and managing/selling services as an enterprise in the enterprise.

(Basis: “Business Model Canvas” of Alexander Osterwalder  and “Business for You”, Tim Clark et alii).

Illustrating my value proposition with a motto

To illustrate my value proposition, I selected this elephant I came across in the Etosha Park, when traveling with my husband.

This elephant may illustrate walking firmly towards new horizons leaving marks. And, the elephant surprised me. When coming closer to the scrubs, he ran off fast towards his destination proving that elephants are not only firm and solid, but also agile.