5 Steps to Help WIth Career Path
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It's 2005, the start of a new year, and a natural review point for most people considering their career. For some people, this past year has been a significant leap forward along their career path. Others may have stalled or may even be asking if they are on the right path. Here are five ways to help find the answer:
Think Bill Gates uses two weeks every year to read and research what is going on inside and outside the world of technology. He also uses the time to process what he has learned. I know what you are now saying: He's Bill Gates; like I have two weeks to burn that way! So start with one day this year.
How much more successful would our own careers be if we were to take time to digest, plan, contemplate and think about where we're at and where we're headed? One person I know goes by himself on a one-day hike every few months. I love to chat with him after he has finished a hike; he always returns with some new insight on his organization, his leadership, or his personal future.
ASK QUESTIONS Peter Drucker is one of the foremost thinkers on organizations. He points out that in the past we could rely on organizations to manage our careers, but today this responsibility has shifted to individuals. We ourselves have to find places where we can make the greatest contribution.
Drucker also notes that very few people know how to identify their abilities and take advantage of them. He suggests we ask ourselves several key questions: What are my strengths? How do I perform? What are my values? Where do I belong? What should my contribution be?
FORGET THE PAST Harvard Business Review editors receive an incredible number of submissions each year. When reading a potential article for their magazine, they always start with one question: So what? The "so what" question can also be a valuable tool for evaluating our careers. Use this question when considering your past career successes and failures and you will quickly see the most valuable aspect of your past is the lessons you have learned and how they apply to your future.
Most of the successful professionals I work with learn from their past but don't dwell on it. It is too easy to get stuck reminiscing on past success and become fearful of the future instead of pursuing a better tomorrow. Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kantor says "success and failure both feed on themselves." When things start going downhill, they do so quickly. One of the keys to shift out of those cycles is to unlock yourself from the past, and get on with the future.
HAVE COURAGE Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon, is famous for his courage when making changes within the structure and model of Amazon -- and for making lots of money doing it. His courage comes in two forms: internal and external. Internal courage is having the guts to make a decision. Bezos had the guts to start Amazon, keep it growing, and constantly push it forward.
External courage comes from surrounding yourself with a group of people that have a close-up view of both your successes and failures. Bezos has pulled together a terrific board of advisors to help him be successful. Who's on your board?
ACT NOW We can all learn from Nike, the "Just Do It" people. The successful professionals I work with take action; the right action. Larry Bossy, the author of Execution says "execution is the missing link between aspirations and results." Failure to execute is also the biggest obstacle to success.
There have been some encouraging early signs for this coming year and our economy. Now is the time to grab on to opportunity and find the right path to career success. Now that you know the first five steps, the choice to move forward is up to you.
It's 2005, the start of a new year, and a natural review point for most people considering their career. For some people, this past year has been a significant leap forward along their career path. Others may have stalled or may even be asking if they are on the right path. Here are five ways to help find the answer:
Think Bill Gates uses two weeks every year to read and research what is going on inside and outside the world of technology. He also uses the time to process what he has learned. I know what you are now saying: He's Bill Gates; like I have two weeks to burn that way! So start with one day this year.
How much more successful would our own careers be if we were to take time to digest, plan, contemplate and think about where we're at and where we're headed? One person I know goes by himself on a one-day hike every few months. I love to chat with him after he has finished a hike; he always returns with some new insight on his organization, his leadership, or his personal future.
ASK QUESTIONS Peter Drucker is one of the foremost thinkers on organizations. He points out that in the past we could rely on organizations to manage our careers, but today this responsibility has shifted to individuals. We ourselves have to find places where we can make the greatest contribution.
Drucker also notes that very few people know how to identify their abilities and take advantage of them. He suggests we ask ourselves several key questions: What are my strengths? How do I perform? What are my values? Where do I belong? What should my contribution be?
FORGET THE PAST Harvard Business Review editors receive an incredible number of submissions each year. When reading a potential article for their magazine, they always start with one question: So what? The "so what" question can also be a valuable tool for evaluating our careers. Use this question when considering your past career successes and failures and you will quickly see the most valuable aspect of your past is the lessons you have learned and how they apply to your future.
Most of the successful professionals I work with learn from their past but don't dwell on it. It is too easy to get stuck reminiscing on past success and become fearful of the future instead of pursuing a better tomorrow. Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kantor says "success and failure both feed on themselves." When things start going downhill, they do so quickly. One of the keys to shift out of those cycles is to unlock yourself from the past, and get on with the future.
HAVE COURAGE Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon, is famous for his courage when making changes within the structure and model of Amazon -- and for making lots of money doing it. His courage comes in two forms: internal and external. Internal courage is having the guts to make a decision. Bezos had the guts to start Amazon, keep it growing, and constantly push it forward.
External courage comes from surrounding yourself with a group of people that have a close-up view of both your successes and failures. Bezos has pulled together a terrific board of advisors to help him be successful. Who's on your board?
ACT NOW We can all learn from Nike, the "Just Do It" people. The successful professionals I work with take action; the right action. Larry Bossy, the author of Execution says "execution is the missing link between aspirations and results." Failure to execute is also the biggest obstacle to success.
There have been some encouraging early signs for this coming year and our economy. Now is the time to grab on to opportunity and find the right path to career success. Now that you know the first five steps, the choice to move forward is up to you.
posted by Alan Kearns at 1:22 PM
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