Career Success Points

Two questions for you. . .

 

“In business, how successful do you want to be?”

And;

“How will you know when you get there?”

 

The above two career coaching questions represent the classic argument that if you don’t know where you are going then frankly how are you going to get there?

It is a very valid argument and you need to address it at some point if you are serious about your career. Unfortunately many people find it too big an issue to address and consequently brush it aside. Let me help you break it down into something more manageable.

The simplest way to do this is to change the time scale of the first question. Instead of thinking about the whole of your career consider a much shorter time span, for example this year, next year, or your next review date.

Alternatively consider it in terms of how successful you want to be in your current role or in your current company. Your current role is your next opportunity to be a success. Even if what you do isn’t what you want to do long term a success in your role now can only help your long term ambitions.

So shorten the time scale of the question based on your current situation and rephrase it to “By the end of that time how successful do I want to be?” Avoid allowing yourself the luxury of giving an answer like “Very” or “As successful as I can be” And that’s where the second question helps.

Asking yourself ““How will I know when I get there?” forces you to come up with something definitive. Job titles are the easy answer that people typically give but there are other answers that might be more relevant for you. Also job titles can be a dead end in business. I know plenty of managers who don’t manage anyone and sales managers who don’t sell.

Deeper, arguably cleverer answers might well then be event related. Such things as setting sales records, getting an industry award or achieving a high customer satisfaction rating. Events like that are the real signs of work success and are very powerful steps towards shaping a successful career.

The key is knowing what level of success you want and knowing how you will measure that. Aim over the short term and each time you achieve your career success point set your next one. This way you will enjoy a progressive career where you chart out each step.

Yours

Stephen Hart

Coach, Trainer, Public Speaker

Based in the UK and Working Globally

Edenchanges

Edenchanges is a company specialising in recruitment training and coaching.

Additionally it provides management and sales training along with a range of corporate training programs to the wider business community.

Services for individuals include career coaching, job hunting advice and interview preparation.

The Best is Yet to Come

The above is our philosophy and what that means to you is that however good and successful you have been up to now we would like to help you be even more successful.

As a company we have a very strong background in recruitment and headhunting, career coaching, sales and management.

We only train things we have done ourselves so when you work with us you are working with people who have sat in your seat and faced your challenges for real.

Combining that real life experience with our ongoing research and development programs and the result is the best training and coaching available.

We also genuinely care about helping people and we’re happy to be a little different in our approach. That’s why our website is designed as a business blog as this means we can offer free personal and career development advice on a regular basis.

Details of the Edenchanges services can be found by clicking the relevant link at the top of the page. Additionally we welcome all enquiries and our contact details are listed below.

We invite you to browse our website and conside how Edenchanges can help you achieve greater success.

Contact Details

Email

enquiries@edenchanges.com

Telephone (International)

+44 1757 249 380

Telephone (UK)

01757 249 380

Edenchanges is based in the UK and works Globally

Related links are:

www.recruitmentwithoutborders.com – a recruitment coaching service provided by Edenchanges

www.box.net/shared/mya0u51×57 – Click to download Edenchanges corporate brochure pdf format

http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenlhart – Linkedin public profile of Stephen Hart, Owner of Edenchanges

http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/how-to-succeed-at-job-hunting/5885865 – How to Succeed at Job Hunting E-book written by Stephen Hart, Owner of Edenchanges

Great Careers Do Not Just Happen

It’s 6am on a Wednesday morning as I type this. The spell checker is telling me that my spelling is rubbish at this time of the morning but I guess that’s why it’s there. So as I am challenged to spell at this hour I want to challenge you for a second – think of some famous people; go on, I’ll wait. . .

Now if I join in I can think of Neil Armstrong – first man on the moon, Lance Armstrong – seven times winner of the Tour de France, Sir Alan Sugar – British business man, Madonna – career musician and pop star. . .here’s another question. . .what do they have in common?

The answer could be long and rambling but let’s keep focused and sum up the biggest thing they have in common – persistence.

You see the success that they all have, and the fame, has come as a result of their persistence. They have struggled up slowly to a level of success and then they have improved upon it. Madonna can be put forward as one of the most clever and business minded of all modern pop stars. She reinvents herself to not only keep up with new generations of singers but often to set an example for them to follow.

Lance Armstrong became one of only three men to win the Tour de France five times then, despite injury and illness, achieved something no one else had done before or since; a sixth and then a seventh win of the Tour.

Ask Sir Alan about how well Amstrad did in the 80’s and he might wince a little at the remembrance of tough times. Yet now he is known the world over as a business leader and his fortune has returned.

Oh and that just leaves Neil Armstrong; in some ways the most famous man in the world. Neil had a successful career prior to being picked for the space program. Then he was selected for a program where only the very best of the best were being selected. He had to again persist in his efforts to do everything right, to have the right attitude and to achieve beyond expectations. By again doing this he became the first human being to set foot on the moon.

So all of the above might leaves us, mere earth bound people, wondering something. Wondering where our persistence might take us. But in fact I think that is the wrong question. I think a more powerful question for us should be this – what would that persistence look like in our lives?

For Lance it would have been getting up early every morning and going for training rides. For us perhaps it is getting up early and starting work before others. Or perhaps it is finally learning to take control of our daily schedule, or reading more. Whatever it is, surely if we can recognise it then we can start to do it.

It’s now just after 6.35am as I come to the end of this blog. I’m going to get some coffee and then start on my list of things to achieve today. For me that’s about being persistent. For you what would persistency be?

Regards

Stephen Hart

Trainer, Coach, Public Speaker