In this week's installment to Life: How to Get What You Want Out of It, I want to focus on career planning and how to help people prevent an all too common tragedy that occurs from time to time. Sadly, this tragedy has happened to many. You spend 15-20 years working for a company to one day find out your skills are no longer needed, as the newest hotshot has passed you in ability and, subsequently, worth to the company. Often, when you spend so much time doing one type of job, it can be very hard to make any kind of change at that point in your life. It's almost like starting over as a novice in a new field, having to learn all of the different idiosyncrasies of your new position or industry. If this ever happens to you, there are various things you can do to bounce back and have a very productive remainder of your working life, but this week's blog is more focused on how to PREVENT this from ever happening. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so here are three simple tips that will serve as three "ounces" to keep the lost career cold away.
I.IDENTIFY TRENDS IN THE MARKET (INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF YOUR INDUSTRY)
One major way to stay ahead of the career curve and not be left on the street trying to hitch a ride back on to the highway of success is to always take the time to read industry magazines and other publications that give insight into what is happening in your industry. The only constant is the world is change, and you have to make sure that you are consistently aware of where the world is headed to be able to identify the next big opportunity. This can also be realized by identify trends in the world in general that could affect your industry and career. You didn't have to be a genius 20 years ago to realize that computers and the internet were going to have a major impact on the world. Making sure that you were computer proficient would've been a no-brainer. If you are a petroleum engineer today, you definitely need to make sure you are well educated in the world of clean energy, as it is only going to be more important and demanded with time. Any time you see commonalities in different clients or customers that could indicate the creation of a trend, the first thing you should think about is HOW will this affect my career in the future and WHAT do I need to do to make sure that I am well positioned to still be an asset to my company/industry if this trends continues.
II.CONSISTENTLY UPGRADE YOUR TALENT AND ABILITY
Now, once you've identified this trend and have a sense of how it will affect your career going forward, the next step is to identify and gain the skills and abilities you will need to hone to put yourself in the best position to be successful. It's amazing how many people there are in the world whose education ended when they formally left school. The super successful are the ones that are always looking for that next class or workshop to improve their skills in some area. They are always reading publications in their field to learn new tips and strategies of how to do their jobs better. By consistently working to attain new talents for use in your career, you put yourselves in the favor of the gods by becoming more and more valuable to your current company. Obtaining a higher level degree in your field or just attending workshops consistently will give your more options and marketability down the road, as well as increase your knowledge base to bring better decision making ability to the table when needed. The person who thinks he/she knows it all is doomed to lose to the person who knows this is never the case.
III. PLAN OUT EACH MOVE STRATEGICALLY IN TERMS OF YOUR LONG TERM GOALS
Once you've identifed the trends and have a sense of what skills you need to obtain/improve to achieve this goal, it's now time to strategically identify where you need to be within or outside of your company to take the most advantage of this reality. Any new position that you are seeking to attain should be planned out a year or two in advance, as you work the political and logistical aspects of making it a reality. For example: You work for a company that has a commercial and residential division, and you are on the residential side. Over time you begin to notice that all of the initiatives for the next year or two seem to focus around the commercial side, and you are hearing that this is where the CEO sees the most profitable growth coming from. Therefore, you need to begin to strategically align yourself with people on that side to prepare to make a change. This could be done through simple networking for subtle connections or by blatantly letting someone know you are interested in making a move. The important thing is to always think three steps ahead to know WHOM you need to talk to about this, WHAT things you need to do to get consideration for this move, and HOW to most efficiently and effectively make this happen.
Your career: It's like a cruel game of chess in which the pieces move, change,and sometimes disappear all the time. This can make it very hard to win, as what worked for your two years ago may not be effective at all today. The key to winning in life (just like in chess), however, is to always think as many steps ahead of your counterparts as possible. The more steps ahead you think, the better chance you have at winning and ensuring that your King is ALWAYS safe from capture.
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
The Importance of Planning - How to Get What You Want Out of Life Series
I have had the pleasure of meeting many people in my life who have various philosophies on ways to live their lives. I am often very intrigued by those individuals who seem to have an allergic reaction to the concept of planning. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a planner. I just don't have this weekend planned out, but I probably have a very good idea of what I am going to do for the next four weekends...easily. It amazes me when you talk to someone who says, "It's only Tuesday, I haven't even thought about this weekend yet." Really? That leads me to believe that you are also the person who thinks, "I'm only 30, I haven't even thought about what my life is going to be like at 50." This is a HUGE mistake and one that many people make in life. I tell people that you need to AT LEAST have a 25-year plan of what your life is going to be like in the future. I actually have a 50-year plan that I'm currently working on. It's not that you have to stick to this plan and never make any changes (I've changed my 50-year plan often as I have matured and different things became more important than they used to be), but you have to have some sense of where you want to go. There are numerous reasons why this is the case.
I. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU CAN END UP ANYWHERE
This is probably the most obvious and maybe the reason that many people refuse to plan. Some people like the sense of spontaneity that comes with not having anything on the calendar for the weekend, in hopes that something "amazing" will happen. Wouldn't it be much better to just plan something amazing rather than hoping it will occur by happenstance. When you don't plan and don't have a strategic vision for your life, you can end of moving in circles without any true sense of accomplishment. Without focus and an understanding of what you desire to achieve, you could end up taking two steps forward, then three steps to the right, then two steps back and then threes steps to the left. Lo and behold, you are in the same place! Planning allows you to continue to make progress to some goal by understanding what you need to do EACH DAY to continue to move forward. If not, any new thing that crosses your path might distract you and hinder you from continuing to achieving your overall goal.
II. IT HELPS YOU MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS
In relation to how planning will help you stay focused on the direction you need to travel, planning will often help you make difficult decisions in life. When you are faced with a tough decision that you are struggling to make, often the question of which decision gets you closer to your ultimate goal can be the determining factor. Those who don't have a plan for their life will often be at the whim of every new fad, person, or situation that presents itself for enjoyment and pleasure. There's nothing wrong with partaking in these things as long as they don't detract from what you are trying to accomplish with your plan, but if you don't know what that plan is, you have no way to make that decision. You have to continually assess each decision that you make from day to day in light of what you ultimately have planned for your life and your family. This will often help you stay out of situations that, more often than not, would hurt rather than help your ultimate goal.
III. MOST PEOPLE DON'T DO IT
I love this reason because it can be related to almost any best practice in life. Just like most people don't read very much, exercise regularly, or eat very healthy, this is probably the biggest reason to do this. While there is enough in this world for everyone to have a fair share, you often are in competition for everything you can achieve against someone else. It's the nature of the world in which we live, and to have more than what others have you must be willing to do MORE than what others are willing to do. The Pareto Principle speaks of how, economically, 20 percent of the world's population owns 80 percent of the world's wealth. I would venture to guess there is a strong correlation between that 20 percent of the world and the percentage of people who plan out their lives and have a strategic vision for their future. By planning out your life, you have a much better chance of being part of this privileged minority.
Planning. It's something that many people don't like to do because it often takes a little bit of brain power to work out, so people would rather just "see what happens" in life. However, it is those individuals who strategically understand what they desire 25-50 years from now and have worked out a plan to achieve it who will do laps around those who don't. Henry Ford said that "Thinking is the hardest work there is which is probably the reason why so few engage in it." Take the time to think and plan out your life to put yourself in the "favor of the gods" and live a life of ultimate achievement. Therefore, next Tuesday when someone ask you what you're doing for the weekend, don't just say "I don't know" as most people do, but rather, "Let me THINK about that and get back to you." Your future self with thank you.
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