Nine Sure Fire Ways to Boost Your Career
1. Differentiate yourself using a Personal Value
Proposition. A PVP a description of how your unique mixture
of five key elements creates and/or adds value for an
organization and the people in it. A personal examination of
these elements reminds you of all the strong, positive
things you bring to the table and it points out the gaps you
need to close before you can position yourself more
effectively. Examine each element separately, combine all
the data and created a succinct summary of what you have to
offer.
The five elements are:
o The knowledge you have about the events and trends in
areas critical to or of most interest to your company and
clients;
o The kinds of internal and external networks that you can
tap into to meet corporate/client needs;
o Your ability to generate and implement superior solutions
to organizational issues and concerns;
o The academic, technical, or interpersonal tools you can
bring to bear in key situations and; finally,
o The personal attributes and strengths you have that sets
you apart from others in the organization.
2. Describe yourself in terms of the outcomes you create,
not the activities you engage in. Fashion a one-line
proclamation, a marketing slogan if you like, that reflects
the outcomes you create for your company and its customers.
3. Make it your personal mission to always make others,
including your boss, look good. Someone once said, "you can
have anything you want; all you have to do is give others
what they want." While there is the odd exception to be
sure, most people are fair and honestùwilling to share
credit where it's due. Making others look good sweeps you up
in their success and almost guarantees that they will help
you enjoy successes of your own.
4. Be a can-do person; take to heart the words of the old
song, "the difficult I can do right now; the impossible will
take a little while." Instead of saying "I've never done
that," say, "I'll learn how to do it." Don't be afraid of
steep learning curves. Remember the organization hired you
because you were smart. Look for the opportunity in
difficulties rather than the difficulties in the
opportunities.
5. Develop success from failures. Don't be afraid to fail or
make mistakes. But if you do either take
responsibilityùdon't project or rationalize. Admitting a
mistake or failure and moving forward is proactive not
reactive. Above all, identify and remember the learning
opportunities in the situation. Forget about everything else
and move on.
6. Ask for help. IQ expands exponentially. Together, two
people bring four times the intelligence. Super-hero
individualism is often counter-productive.
7. Remember the Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule as it's
more commonly known. Eighty percent of your effectiveness
comes from twenty percent of your activities. Manage your
priorities and don't waste time spinning your wheels by
engaging unimportant activity.
8. Get yourself in front of an audience. Learn to make
effective presentations and make as many as you can. Good
presentations are the mark of a true professional. You, your
ideas and skills receive broader corporate exposure that, in
my experience, can result in challenging new assignments,
larger budgets, greater general recognition and even raises
and promotions.
9. Develop and use internal and external networks, both
formal and informal. People who network well often receive
and move information faster, cut through organizational
politics more quickly and, create solutions better suited to
the needs of their companies. Research in different types of
organizations shows that those who develop and use networks
usually get to serve on more successful teams, receive early
promotions more often, get higher compensation, and get
better performance reviews.
® Dr. Tom Olson 2004, all rights reserved
Dr. Tom Olson is the author of Don't Die With Your helmet
On. Visit
http://www.Dontdiewithyourhelmeton.com for more information
about Dr. Tom, the book and his work
