Are you living in today's headlines?

You are confused about how to manage "retirement" when the value of your investments is dropping fast?

Whether you have a job that might go away, you've already

lost your job, or even if you are secure in your job but don't like what you do very much, now is the time to take an inventory of your skills, and take a second look at opportunities you might have ignored in the past.

We created Adapt! How to Survive and Thrive In the Changing World of Work to give you the tips, tricks and tools you need to manage your current reality. You will learn how to take advantage of opportunities that come your way, how to create opportunities, how to get even highly competitive jobs, and how to use your unique skills to create a profitable business.

You will discover that:

• Companies need the right people to help them survive

  (and there's a simple way for you to prove that YOU are the right person for the job).

• You don't need an MBA to succeed (and we've found a surprising statistic to prove it).

• Companies want former employees to work for them (and you can make twice as much money doing it).

• Losing your job isn't the end of the world (unless you just sit in the rocking chair hoping something will happen).

• Career burnout and plateauing still happen (and we'll give you the telltale signs).

Who are we and why should you listen to us?

We are a group of diverse professionals working in a wide variety of fields including art, coaching, consulting, writing,

speaking, publishing, engineering, media production, and the ministry.

We realized that some of us started our careers in the corporate world and after years of climbing the ladder realized that these careers were not working for us. Others started out as entrepreneurs and have continued to own their own businesses. And some of us, after working in other fields, are either returning to the corporate world or working with corporations. All of us, in one way or another, adapted to the changing needs of our chosen careers.

We decided that our experiences could help others who faced similar transitions, whether voluntary or forced. We realized that most people choose careers fresh out of college with very little knowledge of what they are getting into. Many people discover fairly quickly that they are in the wrong career but carry on in the hopes that it will get better as they climb the corporate ladder.

In many cases, they discover that after about 20 years, they are no longer climbing the ladder and their career is on hold. In many cases, they are eased out, gently or not so gently, because they no longer have any chance of promotion to the highest positions.

Steve Amos: Business Consultant, Engineer

Steve Amos is an entrepreneurial consulting wizard with Pax-CC. He has a diverse background as a product manager, project manager, mechanical manufacturing engineer, business owner, speaker, author, marketing, real estate appraiser and investor. Steve coaches teams that Turn Your Visions into Profits through developing new products, problem solving, turnarounds, improving lean processes, and creating marketing focused on customer needs.

Steve Amos helped turn around a division losing $9 million annually to be profitable enough to be sold. Steve also co-developed several niche products, one created first year sales of $6 million. Experience includes Pentair Water, Goldrush Realty Advisors, Black and Decker, Sargent Lock, Colt Firearms, UNC Resources, United Technologies, Eastman Kodak and small entrepreneurial companies.

Steve is an ex-president of Career Builder’s fellowship at Crystal Cathedral, and active in Orange County career groups.

Charlotte Backman: Mandala Visions

After completing a degree in English at UCLA, Charlotte’s career “paths” included advertising, administrative positions at Hewlett-Packard, massage therapy, and working with her Dad in construction.  

She started to paint rocks, way back when that was a craze in elementary school.  After a discouraging high school art class, her creative urges were satisfied with ceramics and beading for quite some time.  She began painting in her 40’s.

Now Charlotte’s art is in international collections, including a Hilton Hotel and several spiritual centers in the US.  Charlotte’s artwork has been published in a unique artistic collaboration with Kathe Schaaf, author of Some Things I Know to be True, 2006, the first in a narrative series of six poetry books. 

Rochelle Burgess: HR and Leadership Consultant

Rochelle focuses on the people side of business. She has over thirty years of Fortune 500 experience, specializing in employee selection and retention, team building, employee relations and leadership development.  Rochelle is known for partnering with each client to create a work environment of high performance standards and continuous professional growth. As faculty at Chapman University, she develops classes in the Organizational Leadership degree program. Rochelle is often a keynote speaker on the mix of the four generations in the workplace, and is writing her doctoral dissertation on communication and feedback between Generation X and Generation Y.

John Hall: Career Transition Coach

John Hall has coached hundreds of executives and management employees through career transitions. At Chapman University, he developed and taught the only graduate outplacement course in the nation. He also taught Advanced Job Search Strategies in the Graduate Career Counseling Program at the University of California, San Diego.

John has had articles published in The Wall Street Journal’s National Business Employment Weekly, The Alumni Newsletter for the Wharton Business School and the Orange County Register. For two and half years, he hosted a talk show, Career Strategies on Talk2K.com. John served three years on the National Board of the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association and is a Past President of their Orange County Chapter.

Michael D. Hardesty: Saving Businesses

Mike Hardesty brings an extensive business background, in addition to a law degree and an MBA, to assist his clients.  His many assignments include: corporate troubleshooter in one of the world's largest apparel companies; in-house counsel and advisor to the president; management consultant helping Fortune 500 companies increase productivity and reduce labor costs; owner of his own management consulting firm with offices in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the U.S.; mergers and acquisitions, exclusively of law firms; and management consultant helping small to mid-sized firms survive and prosper.

Mike has assisted in the salvation, growth, merger and sale of more than 800 domestic and international companies, both large and small.  His analytical ability, no nonsense persona and extensive hands-on experience make Mike the ideal point man to assist anyone thinking seriously about the future of their business.   

Hal Hendrix: Coaching Executives to Success

   Hal Hendrix combines thirty years of experience in the corporate world with coaching and psychology to create a unique and effective business advisory practice. Hal provides executive coaching to further develop or fine tune specific skill sets, improve performance, expand abilities necessary for the next level of job responsibilities, change corporate culture, and enhance leadership abilities.

His corporate experience, the most recent as CFO and senior management team member, included responsibility for accounting, finance, information systems, strategic planning, inventory and indirect impact on manufacturing management. This background enables him to understand complex business issues, including bottom line impact.

Steve Howard: Baby Boomer Challenges

 Steve published the Journal of 2020 Foresight and founded The Knowledge Labs as the authoritative source for the people, places, ideas, trends and the know-how you need to know now. Today, he conducts four Best Fit, Best Place Labs focusing on how to: master the challenges facing all baby boomers; follow your passion to work and live anywhere you want;  take advantage of the green revolution; and  turn your hobby into a KnowledgeATM . 

Previously, Steve coached hundreds of C-Suite and key executives during their career transitions as Senior Vice President at Right Management Consultants.  He held senior management positions at Fluor, Unisys, Western Digital, Proxima and Wyle Electronics.

Joanna Maxwell: Coach, Trainer, Journalist

Joanna Maxwell has found her square hole(s) as a corporate trainer, professional coach and journalist. Her qualifications include ICF coaching accreditation, qualifications in workplace training, a B.A. and an L.L.M. (A Masters of Arts in Journalism is a work-in-progress.)

Round holes she has fallen into along the way include lawyer, life skills teacher, therapist, childcare worker, academic, creative consultant, film writer, barmaid, market researcher and general dogs body. She has also walked on fire, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and traveled through the Middle East, India, Africa, Asia and Tibet.

Joanna runs career change programs for individuals who are sick of hanging up half their personality with their jackets when they arrive at work each day and are ready to create a genuinely compelling and satisfying career. 

Janet L. Newcomb: Business and Career Coach

Jan is an executive coach specializing in business leadership and strategy, organizational effectiveness and career transitions.  In her 25+ years of wide-ranging business experience, she has worked for Fortune 500 companies, founded for-profit and non-profit corporations, served on the boards of several professional organizations, and is currently an entrepreneur/business owner and community volunteer. In addition to advanced studies in organizational management, Jan holds degrees in sociology and law, as well as certificates in career transition coaching, parent coaching, personal/organizational coaching, mediation, diversity and HR development.  

Lee Pound: Editor, Publisher, Speaker

Lee specializes in editing and publishing books for consultants, coaches and other professionals who want to become the recognized experts in their markets. He is also the co-producer of the Speak Your Way to Wealth seminars presented each August in Southern California.

He is the author of seven books, including 57 Steps to Better Writing, and Coaching for the New Century. He has written two novels and three family histories. His publishing company, Solutions Press, specializes in business publications.

He started speaking professionally in 1974. In the late 1980’s he studied creative writing with Sol Stein, one of the premier book editors of the 20^th Century. This led directly to the writing of his novels and to his becoming a writing coach and book publisher.

James Richards: Businessman, Pastor

 James Richards resides in California and has been married to his wife and business partner, Yvonne for 44 years. They have 3 grown sons and 3 grandsons.

James was born and educated in New Zealand. He built an international printing and publishing business, based in New Zealand and with operations in Australia and the United States.

Currently he is the President of an Internet business - InterGreet.com, the exclusive online wholesaler of American Greetings products to retail stores and businesses.

He is an ordained Pastor at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California where he heads an Outreach Ministry to Third World countries and teaches advanced classes in Biblical Studies. He is the author of the popular Theology book, “100 Questions & Answers”.

Jacqueline A. Soares: Entrepreneur

Jacqueline is the President of Lighthouse Inspirations, Inc. a family of companies and an inspirational incubator for new businesses. The entrepreneur's entrepreneur, she has founded, developed and managed a number of businesses: housekeeping services, custom lampshade design, home decor boutique, family mediation, legal document preparation, wedding officiant (www.Idotoday.com), house sitting services, and credit restoration (www.SCRnow.com) - all while raising and mentoring four children and five grandchildren. Jacqueline knows what it takes to build a successful and profitable business and has experienced it all - from initial concept and struggling start-up, to full-service and profitable reality. She is an inspirational speaker and wise advisor who thoroughly understands the daily challenges entrepreneurs face.

Krystal Jalene Thomas: Media Expert

Krystal Jalene Thomas is an award winning television, web and new media producer.  Through her banner Pooka Ventures, she serves as a creative producer and strategic consultant to television, new media and Fortune 500 brands that drive entertainment.   With over a decade of experience, her rare combination of creative talent and business savvy has benefited companies such as Disney, Showtime, PBS, and BMW.

The former IBM Organizational Change Consultant has also been a long time advocate in the effort to better lives in the workplace. Today, Krystal works one on one with individuals in career transition.