Please let me
ask you a few questions:
1. Do you eat a
lot of carbohydrates in your meal or do you load up on proteins instead?
2. Do you save
for a rainy day? Do you invest more money in stocks or property?
3. If you have
an exercise plan, do you perform cardio workouts more than resistance-training,
or is it the other way around?
4. When you park
your car in a crowded mall, do you park your car at the first available lot
even though it is the furthest from the elevator lobby, or will you hover
around the lobby, waiting for a driver to retrieve his vehicle so you can grab
his spot?
It seems that many of us
have mental-models for each decision making process in our life. We have diet
strategies to ensure we eat healthily. We have investment strategies so that we
get the maximum yield on our hard-earned cash. We have an exercise-strategy so
that we can have optimal results for our hard work at the gym.
Hey, we even have parking
strategies when going to the mall! (For men, it is the lot nearest to the
elevators; for ladies, pretty much anywhere.)
So, I am often perplexed to
discover that so many executives out there in the market do not even have a
Career-Strategy™!
A Career
Strategy™ is a plan you develop
based on
self-knowledge and market trends,
identifying
your Strengths, Weaknesses, Passion
and Values,
as well as various Market Opportunities and
Threats
looming on your horizon. .
As a Headhunter, I
have studied the careers of various business leaders, both illustrious and
otherwise. In my research, I have noted that there is one common thread among
those who have been successful in their careers.
They all had a Career
Strategy™ which they’ve developed and adhered closely to. They had a vision and
a plan and they seemed to know what they were doing.
On the other hand,
Executives who haven’t had the time or foresight to develop their own Career
Strategies™ find themselves derailed when negative events or unexpected
opportunities appear on their horizon. For example, when they are approached by
a Headhunter for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – and they have no idea whether
it is right for them; or when their division is shut down because the
operations have moved to China.
Often, Executives only
think of their Career Strategy™ when they are facing retrenchment or after they
have received their pink-slip which is a little too late. Your Career Strategy™
should be a ‘living document’ that is constantly updated and upgraded as you
progress along your Career Journey.
With a coherent Career
Strategy™ to guide your path, navigating obstacles and seizing long-term
advantages becomes clearer and the way forward is easier.
Contact us at [email protected] for more career advice!
