Strategic Career Messages to Live By

____________________________________________________________

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career.  I’ve lost almost 300 games.  26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.   I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.

Michael Jordan

____________________________________________________________

It is my hope that this book will leave the readers with ideas, concepts, and specific actionable items that will deliver more successful and rewarding careers.  I have researched and given personal thought to the key factors that affect the success and failures during careers.  Solutions for many of these are embellished in the various sections of this book.  In addition to that, I felt it would be beneficial to summarize many of these items as a potential quick reference to stimulate action for goal accomplishment.  I hope you will find the summary, which follows, helpful as you focus on achieving your career objectives or for helping others whom you have responsibility for providing guidance and counsel.

1. Find a mentor, hopefully one inside your current organization and one outside that organization.  Being mentored by the right person is an important and vital element for success.  The mentor guides his or her protégé in developing skills, methods and work habits, which the mentor developed over his or her entire career.  The mentor becomes, in effect, the portal to the business experts and resources the protégé will need for professional growth and development.
2. Plan to arrive early for business meetings and functions.  If the function begins at 8:00 AM, arrive at 7:45 AM at the latest.  You will have time to relax and relieve anxiety, network, read the pulse of other attendees, identify supporters or adversaries, collect your thoughts and fine tune any last minute adjustments you need to make before the meeting begins.  Moreover, you certainly do not want to establish the negative brand of being late for meetings.  Make the attention you get positive and never negative.
3. If you have not already done so, develop the habit of getting adequate sleep and start your day early.  You will feel refreshed and ready for your activities of the day.  Arrive early at your work location and you will accomplish more before others arrive and the distractions begin to occur.  Additionally, you are sending a message that your career is important to you and your life’s work is a priority.
4. Know thyself!  Get to know who you are by conducting a thorough, honest appraisal of your strengths and your weaknesses.  Begin using your strengths for all possible advantage while concurrently working on your weaknesses as best you can.  Be mindful that circumstances can sometimes change the perception of strengths and perceived weaknesses.   Know the difference between things that are legitimate performance concerns versus personality differences or perceptions.
5. Plan for your annual performance evaluation all year long.  Keep accurate records of your accomplishments and their impact on the organization.  Make sure you use this opportunity to set the stage for the future by discussing your career aspirations.  Give this process the attention it needs; it is much too important to be rushed or done without adequate preparation.
6. You can be sure that change will be a constant during your career.  You will not be able to stop it and there are penalties for attempting to avoid or slow it down.  Diversify your experiences and knowledge while embracing change.  Every time one door closes, another will open for those who are prepared and have the right experiences and transferable skills.
7. When you make yourself needed, people will value you.  When you are valued, you will be compensated for what you deliver.  Constantly strive to increase your personal value by doing things others cannot or will not do.  You will get more personal satisfaction while increasing your earning potential.
8. Always operate with the highest degree of honesty and integrity.  This trait is non-negotiable.  Violating this rule just once can destroy an outstanding career immediately.  It does not matter how much good you have done in the past or how much you might be able to do in the future; it is over.
9. Train yourself to remain calm in seemingly difficult situations.  You increase your odds of doing or saying something, you might later regret if you get emotional.  Keep all things in perspective and realize that there will always be another day.  All things will pass.
10. If you must disagree with someone, learn to do so without being disagreeable.  Most situations you will encounter during your career do not rise to the level of significance to justify destroying a personal or professional relationship.     
11. Put effort into managing and promoting your personal brand.  Never leave that responsibility to others; no one will ever have the same level of interest in your success.
12. Always be responsive in your personal and professional relationships.  You have a chance to send a message each time you interact with others, send positive messages.
13. Create a personal mission statement.  Review it frequently and keep it visible.  Manage and follow-up on your career plan on a quarterly and/or annual basis to make sure you are on track to accomplish your career goals.
14. Have written goals that reflect the things you need to accomplish.  You will need these no matter whether you are self-employed, an employee, or a contractor.  Have a detailed daily action plan, which supports your goals in order to facilitate goal accomplishment.
15. We all have activities in our profession that we dislike and often avoid.  Handle those things early in the day and move on to the things you have passion for and find rewarding.
16. If you need additional training in order to achieve your goals, get the training you need.  Good performance is the result of continuous learning and development.
17. Keep your professional skills contemporary and your resume fresh.  You never know when you will need to make a change so be prepared.  Manage your career with the same discipline you would a business; it is essentially the same.
18. Have adequate balance in your life.  That is required to support your needs and we all need ways of recharging and energizing ourselves. 
19. Develop good health maintenance habits and make them a part of your normal routine.  Without good health, your career achievements mean nothing.
20. Show that you are approachable by your body language.  Others will get to know you while you expand your list of contacts.  You never know when a chance encounter will lead to a great idea, valuable contact, or networking opportunity.
21. Do not depend on luck alone to achieve your career goals.  Work on the factors that facilitate your luck; knowledge, skills, preparation, and contacts.
22. Relax and enjoy life.  When you are rushed and stressed out, you are blind to opportunities and good fortune.
23. Read about and experience things you currently know nothing or little about.  You just might discover something new and exciting.  This is also a wonderful way to enhance your ability to have stimulating conversations during business, professional and social events.
24. Dream big!  Expect good fortune, expect to achieve desired results and be sensitive to the psychology of performance.  If you do not believe you can, you want.  Nothing has ever been achieved when it was not believed possible.
25. Success in your career will be impacted by the things you do or fail to do.  Learn to show up, be active, and contribute value.
26. Act and be positive in all that you do during your career.  Negative attitudes can and will destroy an organization.  It will eventually destroy you as well no matter whether you are a business owner, independent contractor or working for an organization as an employee.  You always have choices so choose to be positive and never play that self-destructive “isn’t it awful” game.
27. Learn to say and send those notes that say the simple words, “thank you.”   Do it sincerely when appreciation is deserved.  You will feel good personally and those being recognized will be thrilled with this positive reinforcement. 
28. When you achieve a leadership position, learn to delegate, but never ask more of your subordinates than you are personally willing to give.  Respect must be earned and can never be demanded.  Others will hear what you say but they will always watch your footprints to see what you do.
29. We will all have bumps in the road during our career.  Do not let them be your defining moment, leave that to how you respond.  Be mindful that all things will pass. 
30. Be aware that during your career, “stuff will happen.”  There will be some people who will like or dislike you for no apparent reason.  There is the potential for bad breaks to happen that have nothing to do with you personally or things that you can reasonably control.  Manage your defining moments as best you can.
31. Travel, the world is getting smaller everyday and we all need to be exposed to and sensitive to other cultures and ways of thinking.
32. Choose carefully the people you allow to have a front row seat in your life, they will affect how you are defined as well as many of the choices you make.
33. You cannot be what you do not know.  When you need training of any type in order to improve, get it.
34. Learn to take calculated risks; you might have the opportunity to get what you want out of life.  Focus on the positives associated with risk and not the negatives that prevent us from taking action.
35. You need to know who you are and what you want.  Define yourself and learn the things important for your personal success.  Understand your options and be prepared to support the choices you make with passion.
36. Never depend on others to lead and guide your actions.  Be professional and learn to lead yourself.  That is the only way you will be able to control your destiny.   
37. The higher you rise in an organization, the more you will be exposed to and required to handle sensitive, confidential information. Show that you can do so early in your career and never participate in the rumor mill.  This will improve your odds of becoming a serious candidate for leadership positions.
38. Learn and practice good etiquette.  Your technical skills and abilities might get you hired but without practicing good etiquette, your promotional potential will be limited.  Practice polite conduct in all that you do.
39. Learn and practice humility no matter what level of success you achieve in life.  Continue to treat all those you encounter with dignity and respect.  Never forget that people and your relationships got you to where you are and they can bring you down.
40. We will all experience difficult times during our career; times when you feel others have done you wrong or have not treated you fairly.  Those situations will be bumps in the road to success but never forget the lessons learned.    They will make you stronger and more prepared for future career challenges.         
41. Finally, follow your true dreams, do what you are passionate about, take calculated risks, discover, innovate, have fun, and enjoy the journey!  Remember that 30 years from now; you will regret more the things you did not do during your career than the things you did.  “May the wind be always at your back.”