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A Bit of Pollyanna
"Stop being such a Pollyanna," a trusted, more experienced colleague counseled as we took the long route back to my office. He had just witnessed my project idea annihilated as co-workers eagerly argued why my idea wouldn't work, where it was...
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Goals for Undergraduates: What You Should Know When You Graduate.
I loved college. I majored in a subject which fascinated me, took the classes I wanted to, and got great grades. When I graduated, I thought I knew everything I needed to know to succeed in the big postgraduate world. I was wrong. Most of my...
Help Traumatized, Withdrawn Students During The Holidays
The holidays may not be a time of happy celebration for many children and youth. Some face periods of isolation with family members who will be seriously impaired by substance abuse, or consumed with rage or sadness. For other young people, the...
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Comparing Costs: eLearning vs Traditional
It is important for managers and organizations to consider a number of different factors when determing the best training delivery approach for their staff or organization. Factors include: efficiency, timeliness, consistency and appropriateness of...
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Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail: Assuring Business Success with a "Life Plan"
Norman Vincent Peale said it best: "We tend to get what we
expect". A fresh, new year is here, and aspiring business people
should forego the ever popular New Year's resolution to lose
weight and, instead, commit to making a "Life Plan". Doing so
will help individuals balance their "whole life" and assure they
are ready to take on new workplace challenges as they are
presented - and to execute them well. With this in mind, here
are someinsights on the value of Life Planning:
* Passivity will get you nowhere. Far too many are not as happy
as they would like to be, as successful as they think they
should be, or as wealthy as they'd hoped they would be when they
were younger. Not coincidently, most people do not have a
personal life plan either. They simply get up each day, do
whatever it is that they get paid to do, and then do whatever it
is they think they want to do for relaxation and personal time.
In short, they let life happen to them as opposed to managing
their lives.
* Take the task seriously. However helpful, creating a life plan
requires work. Developing it can be as hard or as easy as one
makes it and requires a level of commitment to take it from
concept to completion. The more detailed your life plan, the
more readily you can identify areas of weakness and find
actionable ways to overcome them.
* Cover all the bases. A good life plan recognizes that our
lives are segmented into 3 different facets: the professional
self - the one who goes out each day to make a living; the
family self - the one who does things for and with those they
love; and the personal self who has things they love and enjoy
doing which replenish them. Addressing each of these personality
facets assures you will address, think through, and plan for all
critical areas of your life that,
ultimately, intertwine.
* Keep tabs. Like insurance, you should review your life plan
after any major life event. Getting married, or divorced,
starting a family, moving, promoted, illness, any of these sorts
of things can render your life plan out of date. Since a life
plan is one of the most important tools to the achievement of
your goals, make sure it's current. Don't treat it as a static
document, it's much too critical to be relegated to the bottom
drawer.
Over nearly 30 years in the business world, I have had the
privilege of spending time with many well known and well
regarded corporate executives, government officials and
diplomats. Being up close and personal with this type of
individual on a fairly frequent basis triggered the realization
that there are certain attributes most of these very successful
business people have in common. Indeed, I found that virtually
every successful individual had a personal life plan.
When asked, each could tell me in relatively certain terms what
the future was going to be like for them. Their plan wasn't
always written down, but it was always fairly detailed and had
deadlines and clear actionable goals. In short, these
individuals had a business plan for their career 'and' their
life. Personal life planning can help assure business success.
Simply put, if you want something, have a plan to get it.
About the author:
John McKee, a certified business and executive coach and Author
of "21 Ways Women in Management Shoot Themselves in the Foot",
is the expert and visionary behind BusinessSuccessCoach.net, an
online destination for professionals who aspire to maximize
their success in business. He can be reached through his Web
sites at www.businesssuccesscoach.net and
www.businesswomanweb.com.
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