Pretirement - by Rick Smith (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

What comes after a successful career?

For millions of high achievers, the answer is far less clear than expected. The structure disappears. The calendar empties. The identity that once defined you no longer applies. This is the reality of post career life, and it catches even the most prepared professionals off guard.

In Pretirement, Rick Smith reframes this transition entirely. Drawing on decades of experience advising top executives, he shows that life after leadership is not an ending, but a distinct and highly designable phase. Yet most people approach it without a plan, leading to frustration, overcommitment, or drift.

Through real stories, Smith brings this challenge into focus. A former CEO wakes up to an empty inbox and questions her relevance. A senior executive fills his time with consulting work that drains rather than fulfills him. Another leader, instead of drifting, runs structured experiments--teaching, advising, and investing--before building a deeply satisfying portfolio life. These examples reveal the difference between reacting to change and designing it.

At the core of the book is a practical framework for executive transition, built around three phases: Discovery, Foundation, and Optimization. Readers learn how to:

• Navigate the psychological hurdles of retirement identity
• Avoid the traps common in second act careers
• Adopt a more intentional retirement planning mindset

Smith also introduces actionable tools like the New North, helping readers define priorities across belonging, contribution, vitality, curiosity, and play. These tools allow professionals to evaluate opportunities based not on prestige or habit, but on what genuinely fits.

Unlike traditional retirement books, Pretirement focuses on meaning rather than money. It's a guide for those who still want to contribute, learn, and engage without returning to the constraints of full-time roles.

For senior leaders, founders, and professionals navigating leadership transition, this book provides a clear path forward: not drifting into retirement, but actively building what comes next.

Review Quotes

"Pretirement is one of those rare books that reframes everything. Rick Smith has done something genuinely original here--he's taken a life stage that most of us stumble through and built an entirely new playbook for it. The ideas are a breakthrough, the framework is practical, and the result is a book that will change how leaders think about the most important transition of their lives."
-- Marillyn Hewson
Former Chairman & CEO, Lockheed Martin

"'Retirement' is the wrong word for what happens to people like us. Rick finally gives language, and a design, to the most important, least-planned stretch of a successful life."
-- Pat Russo
Former CEO, Lucent Technologies; Board Director, General Motors, Alcoa, and others

"Required reading for any leader within ten years of their last big role."
-- Brian Cornell
Former Chairman & CEO, Target Corporation

"Rick Smith has spent his career building the rooms where leaders figure out what's next. He's distilled all of it into this book. When he writes about this, leaders should listen."
-- Roger Ferguson
Former President & CEO, TIAA; Former Vice Chairman, Federal Reserve; Board Director, Meta

"Most books tell you to find your purpose. Rick actually hands you the playbook--a practical way to design the years after the corner office. I'll be recommending it to everyone on my boards."
-- Maggie Wilderotter
Co-Founder, ONYX; Former Chairman & CEO, Frontier Communications; Director on 51 corporate boards

"Modern longevity is turning the conventional assumptions about retirement on its head, redefining life after the C-suite, turning old endpoints into new exciting horizons. Rick's ultimate playbook offers profound revelations and a master class in making the later chapters full of purpose and meaning."
-- Fred Hassan
Former Chairman & CEO, Schering-Plough and Pharmacia & Upjohn; Managing Director, Warburg Pincus

"Rick Smith has spent his career building the rooms where leaders figure out what's next. He's distilled all of it into this book. When he writes about this, leaders should listen."
-- Frank Blake
Former Chairman & CEO, The Home Depot

"The next chapter for senior leaders can be daunting. Pretirement helps you navigate the way forward--through the uncertainties and into the possibilities."
-- A.G. Lafley
Former Chairman & CEO, Procter & Gamble (two tenures); one of the most celebrated CEOs in American business history

"Anyone who retires from the C-Suite knows that you are facing a new paradigm. There's surprisingly little advice available on how to make your adjustment to civilian life productive and comfortable. Rick applies all his entrepreneurial instincts and unique experience working with executives to give us a definitive how-to book on getting this right. As someone who recently retired after thirty-one years at a large public company, I can honestly say I wish I had this resource when I was planning my transition."
-- Steve Collis
Former Chairman & CEO, Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), a Fortune 10 Company

About the Author

RICK SMITH is an entrepreneur, author, and advisor to senior leaders navigating major career transitions. He has spent more than thirty years working with Fortune 500 executives, giving him a rare perspective on the challenges of life after high-impact roles.

He is the founder of multiple organizations serving global business leaders and has built companies across diverse industries, several reaching billion-dollar valuations. A Wall Street Journal bestselling author, his work has been widely translated and recognized in the business community.

Smith is also an experienced speaker and has delivered hundreds of keynotes on leadership, career development, and post-career design.