The Larsen Group

Circles of Change:  Conversations with Dr. Zara Larsen on Change Leadership and Career Fulfillment

March 2, 2008 

“Life Begins at 180 mph: Will I ever retire?”

Guest:  David R. McLellan, Consultant and retired Corvette Chief Engineer

Anchoring Points:  

1. How was it I came to retire after 17 years of having my “dream job” with Corvette?  The next generation car was concepted, having solved the conundrum of making the car four times stiffer as a convertible yet no heavier, and some of the best people were in the right places.  It was time for me to let go and move on.  To carve a new path.
2. With the help of a friend, I started consulting with a government defense company to build a four wheel steer and brake-by-wire car, totally reconfigurable in software.  A series of technology demonstration trucks for the Army followed, and then my client made a series of moves.  I followed him each time, serendipitously stepping into new experiences. This has become a wonderfully symbiotic relationship and although my client, though younger, has become a wonderful mentor. 
3. In “retirement” I have became a consultant, been on the Board of Porsche US Engineering, and written a book (“Corvette from the Inside”), plus stayed active in the National Corvette Museum, Restorers Society, and the Society of Automotive Engineers.  With SAE I focus on giving back to the next generation,– the bi-annual Race Car Engineering Conference, their Speakers Bureau, and talking with students (the industry’s future engineers) involved with the SAE race car and Baja programs. 
4. So, what do you do when you retire?  I don’t know.  I never tried it.  I think it would be very boring.  One needs the stimulation of being involved with others and doing things to keep your mind sharp.

Additional Thoughts from Dr. Zara Larsen:

1. Transitions most often begin prior to an actual “event”, prompted by our deliberate and unintentional thoughts and actions.  The visible manifestation of a transition is the result of jumping a wave, or being wiped out by one.
2. You can either move through the shifts in your life via a series of Exit Strategies or a series of Entrance Strategies – choosing to think creatively and innovate from the base of your experiences, taking a portfolio approach to explore, grow and change.
3. Not only do you want to avoid being the last one there to turn the lights out, it’s also far better to leave the party before it’s over.
4. If you focus on what you have left behind, you will not move ahead.
5. In retirement, working with a pursuit of playing to our passions and helping others will cause “work” to become our avocation – our full time hobby.