Career Planning: The things that really matter!

Career Planning:  The things that really matter!

I have three daughters who are nearing the age when they will seek careers. This is a bit scary for me but that is fodder for another blog. Today, I want to share with you some of the advice that I give college aged kids who are thinking about the future. No matter who you are and no matter what you plan on doing, if you want to succeed, you must make sure that you follow these strategies!

•1.       Trajectory!  It’s not about where you are, it’s about where you are heading! I remember when I was making next to nothing and wondering what was going to happen. I knew I was working hard and that I had the ‘never give up’ work ethic (together this is called momentum). I knew I was in a field that was growing. But, I really wanted to make enough to support my family. My wife and I talked about my career trajectory. I was tracking up! As long as I kept my path point up, it did not matter where I was today. The most important thing is to keep that long term focus and to keep your plans rising up. Time will take care of the rest.  What affects trajectory…Aim and Momentum!

 

•2.       Look the part!  If you look like a bum, you will get paid like a bum – and who can afford that type of income. Who is your boss’ boss and what do they look like? Find out and cloth yourself in their cloths. So, wear what your boss’ boss wears. Dress like the position you want to have in 3-5 years. 90% of people’s confidence in you is judged within 10 seconds of them meeting you.

 •3.       Never, ever give up!  There are times to change direction, but this is not the same thing as giving up. When faced with a challenge, take it and keep going – keep trying and persevere.  When you see the really hard problems and others are running, volunteer! What can go wrong – if you make it happen, you are a hero. If you can’t, well no one else was able to either.  Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration!

 •4.       Learn baby learn!  One time I walked into the office of a general for a project that I was on. We had a short (and focused) discussion. He wanted things done right. I was prepared because I bought a book on how to do it. In my honesty I told him that I was going to do it by the book. I meant literally, I was going through this book section by section and I was going to follow it. He took at as that phrase goes… “by the book”. His reply, yes, I want it done by the book. I didn’t correct him. When we stop learning, we stop earning.

 •5.       Take responsibility!  There are people who I depend on. These people say, “I’ve got it” or “I’ll get it done”. These are the people that I will turn to every time. When someone takes responsibility they look different than those who don’t. Responsible people take the initiative and remain focused on the task. They understand that it’s not about them, it’s about the team, the project, the task. People who don’t take responsibility walk that gray area in-between, they ride the fence, they leave themselves outs and look to blame early. They portray that it’s really about them. If you want to be responsible, then make a decision to do so – it’s really that easy.

 •6.       You will never fail!  Understand that there is no way that you can fail. People don’t understand what failure is any more. Failure is when you give up and according to number 3, that can’t happen to us! We will learn many many ways how things don’t work. Don’t confuse this with failure. Be like a stamp and stick to it! When you find how something doesn’t work, this is also called learning. But as long as you keep on trying (number 3) and keep learning these lessons (number 4) and take responsibility (number 5) while dressing the part (number 2) and knowing that it doesn’t matter so much where you are now (number 1), you cannot fail!

 •7.       Be Humble!  My kids play a lot of soccer and one day they asked me to play in an indoor league. Now it’s been a long time since I played and I was pretty out of shape and everyone else was better than I. Well, I told my kids that if I scored, I would simply jog back to my position and act like I’ve done this before. That game I scored two! And while I was really excited, I did what I said, I acted like this was expected. When we are humble and give credit to others, without saying it we communicate “Of course I was successful, that’s what I’m about”. But the magic is that when people see/say this about us, it’s true in their minds. But, when we have to tell them how great we are, they don’t believe us.

 •8.       Act like everyone is watching, all the time!  Our character is our sacred honor. It is the most expensive thing we have. If your actions depend upon who is watching, I guarantee that one day it will catch up with you and your character will be bankrupt. Don’t let this happen. From day one make an oath to yourself that you will always act in a manner that you would normally do when the big boss is around.

 •9.       Let your yes be yes and your no be no!  Politics is when you filter what you say so that you will influence your current audience. While it is ok to adapt your communication style and content to your audience to communicate different points, it is not ok to slant your motives to gain favor for one group at the expense of another. When people do this, it is poison and will kill the team and eventually your career. Are you the antidote or poison?

 •10.   Rewards follow performance!  I have seen many people’s career stall because they won’t move on something because it’s not their job or they don’t pay me to do that. I have actually had many people say they won’t go that extra mile because they are not getting paid for it. Well, until you understand that rewards follow performance, your prophecy will be self fulfilled. It takes performance and most times, continuous and consistent excellent performance to be rewarded. The person whose career excels is the person who makes high performance a standard.