Your career is important to you.
Your brand is important to you.
But they aren’t working as hard as they could for you. I guarantee it. It doesn’t take crazy time or energy to change that; to get your brand and career turbo-charged.
Action one: map out your grand strategy
Most people I work with are intimidated by the thought of mapping out their grand strategy because they aren’t clear on exactly what they want and because they are afraid of failure. But, it is extremely important to have a grand strategy for your life. To be as effective as possible, you need to see not only one, but two or three steps ahead. Tactically, this means mapping out the qualities of what you want (feelings, values, priorities and passions) first — and then fleshing out as many of the details (how, where) later.
Action two: re-frame your stories
The most successful business people in the next decade are going to be those who are skilled at adapting their experience to new situations. In other words, they will be able to identify how the skills they have learned in the will help them solve new problems in different situations in the future. After all, businesses are tackling new problems at an ever-increasing pace! To do this, think about the transferable skills you have!
Action three: be your own best salesman
Successful people believe in themselves. Sadly, significant numbers of you don’t own your accomplishments enough to be their own best salesmen. We all need to give ourselves credit for their accomplishments in a way that is tactful and impactful. The key to this is to think about your audience and what they want to hear. (And then, tell them!)
Action four: invest in yourself
With the rate of change in our society, technology and work, the most successful people are those who continually invest in themselves. Specifically those who invest in their education, health and networks. Consistent growth and learning new skills is going to be imperative to thriving in our changing economy. What can you do this week to invest in yourself?
Action five: focus on self-awareness
One of the greatest predictors of career success is self-awareness. You need to know your strengths, your weaknesses and your biases. In fact, I’ve heard from countless executives that self-awareness is a make-or-break quality for their candidates! A great place to start is to take the Myers Briggs based personality test!
