Long before job security disappeared, long before the word "burnout" came into common usage, long before a generation of career changers popularized lifelong learning, and way before the Internet brought learning into our homes, we (Claude Whitmyer and Gail Terry Grimes) were already teaching people how to find greater meaning and reward in what they did for a living.
We have provided career guidance, small business consulting, entrepreneurship training, and other lifelong learning opportunities to thousands of men and women searching for more meaning in their lives, their work and their work places, while still meeting the need to pay the bills.
We have long been thought leaders in the movement to bring back purpose and values to the workplace as demonstrated in our writing, including our books:
- Mindfulness & Meaningful Work: Explorations in Right Livelihood (Parallax Press, 1994), through which we helped introduce the idea of "right livelihood" to the English-speaking world.
- Running a One Person Business (Ten Speed Press, Second Edition, 1994), in which we were among the first to call for a values-based "business-as-lifestyle" approach to entrepreneurship.
- In the Company of Others: Making Community in the Modern World (Targer/Putnam, 1993) where we were early champions of the practices of "circles of intimacy" and grassroots marketing that have come to be known as "degrees of separation," "social networking" and "social marketing."
These books also document the development and describe the elements of Good Work Guidance™ and Good Business Advice, our unique approaches to career guidance and business consulting.
Today, we continue to offer individual sessions and group workshops by special arrangement. Scroll down to learn more about how you can benefit from the expert advice that comes from our more than 60 years of combined experience.
Career Guidance.
Claude sometimes jokes that, judging from how people behave at work, the word career is actually the word "careen" and a piece of the "n" broke off to make it look like an "r." His sense of humor may be slightly different, but there is no denying that many jobs make us feel like we are bouncing off the walls of our cubicles or careening through life from one bad job to another.
In Good Work what you do for a living is determined FIRST by your innate interests and capacities, and SECOND by the need to make money. Making money is still important, but you look for work that lets you do what you love and still pays the bills. Your "career" changes, sometimes in an instant of "Aha!" insight, but more often through refinements in understanding that lead you through a series of better and better jobs.
Private, confidential consultations guided by the Good Work Guidance™ process), are available in San Francisco and other cities or online by special arrangement. You can read the personal history of my own Good Work here. Learn more about Good Work Guidance here. To schedule an appointment write or call 415-648-2667.
Online Career Guidance.
Individual and group sessions are available online, based on the same steps covered in the free sample lessons and face-to-face consultations. For information about the online consulting tools I use, please visit here or write or call me (415-648-2667).
Executive Coaching.
If you are a manager or executive facing a job transition or looking for career guidance, we offer you private consultations in person or by phone or email. To schedule an appointment write or call 415-648-2667.
Career Coaching in Japan.
We are excited by the pioneering work of our associate Hidetake Enomoto in bringing career coaching to Japan. Through workshops and one-to-one consulting sessions, Mr. Enomoto has helped many hundreds of Japanese professionals find greater meaning in their work. Through meaningfulWork.Com, he is available for cross-cultural workshops and teleconferences on new developments in the Japanese workplace. Please email for details. Mr. Enomoto's biography, is here.
Workshops.
The Path to Meaningful Work is available as a one- or two-day workshop by special arrangement for groups of eight or more. To let us know of your group's interest, please write or call 415-648-2667.
Business Consulting.
Starting, expanding, or selling a business? To do it right, don't try doing it alone. Let us help. We can help you do well by also doing good. For information, please go here or write or call 415-648-2667.