What Our Clients Say
“As two professionals -- one retired for more than ten years and one facing
retirement after serving as the CEO of a $1.5 billion corporation -- we
didn’t think there was much we needed to learn about how to manage life
and change.
We were wrong.
Although skeptical at first, we both came away feeling that our experience
with Shields Meneley had tremendous and lasting value. Did we learn a great
deal about ourselves that we didn’t already know? Fortunately not, but
having things affirmed, reinforced and put into perspective in such a professional
way has proved invaluable to us. This was not something we could or would
have done on our own.
We find ourselves referring back to our sessions again and again, individually,
together and in the company of friends. We have recommended the service
to several friends and acquaintances and will continue to do so. Nothing
can help you avoid the small bumps in the road, but this experience definitely
helped us keep the small bumps from becoming large ones and to see the
large ones coming so we can try to avoid them.”
Retired Attorney
“I was retiring after a 35-year career in a Fortune 500 company but my
wife was just getting started. She wanted to go back into the workforce
after taking time off to raise our three children who would soon be off
to college.
Like many couples, we had focused on economic and financial issues. We
hadn’t really considered what we wanted from the next phase of our lives.
Shields Meneley Partners’ life planning service provided a comprehensive,
systematic process to address this important issue.
My wife and I worked closely with Shields Meneley advisors to develop personal
and shared goals. Because we had very different points of view about some
issues, their facilitation was invaluable in coming to agreement. We found
new ways to think and talk about ideas so that we better understood the
other person’s point of view. We learned how to have conversations, not
debates..
Our plans provide an important and necessary framework as we move forward
with the next chapter of our lives. We continue to refer to them, and have
modified them along the way using skills that we learned during the process.
We strongly recommend Shields Meneley Partners and their Decision Points™
life planning process. It is crucial for those contemplating retirement."
“My wife and I were made aware of the Shields Meneley Partners service
by mutual friends who knew that we were reaching an important juncture
in our lives. My professional career had been on an upward trajectory since
college, and I had over-achieved all goals I had set for myself. That said,
my career plans for the near term were quite firm.
But, my wife’s plans were ready for examination. As her partner, mine were
naturally up for discussion in the context of supporting her. She had left
a successful professional career to raise our children 15 years before,
and was approaching an "empty nest" and the questions that mark
this important milestone in one's life. As I told Gail Meneley and Hugh
Shields, if they hadn’t had a life planning service, I would have had to
create one.
There is a rigor to their process that we would never have imposed on ourselves,
and we have learned an enormous amount. Focused assessment feedback along
with observations by friends and family members offered valuable insight
into what we need to continue to lead challenging and fulfilling lives.
My wife has embarked on a new career as a result of acting on one of the
options that we explored throughout the process. I continue my career and
civic involvements with a new perspective from which to view various options
for the eventual ‘next act.’ We have a great new framework with which to
consider longer range issues as our lives evolve.”
Managing Partner
$2 Billion Private Equity Firm
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