Re-reading The Adult Years by Frederic Hudson, co-founder of the Hudson Institute of Coaching, I was struck by how prescient it was (much of it could be written today) and how accurately it describes the tasks and the dilemmas of adults constructing meaningful lives in times of change (he was onto this 30 years before David Brooks very current The Second Mountain.
Frederic’s vision for change is profound….here is how he positioned coaches as needed change agents, in 1995!!! no less.
When the macrosystems (of society) are out of synch, the microsystems rise in importance to provide direction and meaning for our lives…. the leaders of microsystem empowerment (I call) “coaches” –
READ MORE of his great thinking here…and thanks for the work and the person you were Frederic…I am compelled to write about you every once in a while since you so live with me and so many I know…. John P. Schuster
As a personal aside:
In the acknowledgement section of the book, he listed the somewhat forgotten but so relevant thought leaders like Malcolm Knowles (wiki) and Edie Seashore, superstars in my mind. And much to my surprise Frederic names me too, as I had forgotten about that. I got publicly acknowledged by Frederic Hudson, how beautiful to rediscover since I feel I live and work on his shoulders and try to carry on his work by helping Pam, his widow/company co-founder, also an accomplished author, their son, Michael, and the Hudson team. When The Adult Years was published I had known Frederic for only 3 years but it was a major turning point in my life and he and I enjoyed a deep connection from the beginning.