• E-mail this page
• |  Print this page
• | 
• | 
• | 

Abandoning IT

"The bride and groom were terrified when the found out the new owners have never done anything like this before," recalls Jim. And the soon-to-be newlyweds had a good reason to be concerned: "We didn't know how to do it," he says.

The McCoys decided to employ the techniques that helped Jim advance his career as an IT project manager at J.P. Morgan Chase and Royal Insurance, and Lisa as a project manager and consultant at Chase, Anderson Consulting, and PeopleSoft. They taught The Mercersburg Inn staff how to develop a project plan. They asked each employ to write down every task they perform, when each task had to be completed, and identify the people they had to work with to accomplish each undertaking.

"They moaned and groaned," Jim says. "People don't do planning like that." But the couple took their employees' writings, prioritized them, and generated a project plan, which they distributed to the workers as they began to prepare for the wedding soiree. "We handed the plan to them, and they felt comfortable having a piece of paper that explained what they were to do, and it made the bride and groom feel better," Jim says. "The reception went off without a hitch."

Seeing IT jobs being outsourced, the McCoys decided to change careers, and purchased the 17-room inn--a former turn-of-the-century Georgian mansion with restaurant--13 months ago. Besides, Lisa's job at PeopleSoft helping clients implement financial systems was taking her too far away, for too long periods, from their midtown Manhattan apartment; she spent a year in San Antonio, Texas, another year in Tampa, Fla., and nine months in Philadelphia.

The McCoys' careers weren't too dissimilar than those of other baby boomers in IT. As my colleague Marianne Kolbasuk McGee reports in this week's InformationWeek cover story, Midcareer Crisis, older IT pros find their livelihood in flux. Jobs have never felt so precarious, and retirement looks very different, she writes.

The couple's IT know-how has helped them develop systems using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and Access database that combine data from several antiquated systems to track cash flow and collect guest information. In addition, they installed wireless Internet access points in the inn as a way to attract business travelers and small-business conferences.

Do the McCoys miss IT and their urban lifestyle? Jim answers, "We miss a regular paycheck and bagels."

« Help Wanted: IT Pros Looking For New-Job Advice | Main | Carlson CEO Sets Example for Execs Who Send IT Work Offshore »