CAREER DEVELOPMENT: Take Action Now!

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Weather you are currently employed or looking for a job, you need to become “action oriented.” If you are employed you need to constantly take the risk of learning new skills and taking on new assignments so you can stay ahead of your co-workers. If unemployed you must network, network, network. You must learn new skills that are currently need in the new job market not simply rely on your old skill set. You must go to every interview possible, because you never know which one will pay off. Bottom line… Don’t just sit there and plan or wait for something to happen. Make it happen. Only you can!

Sometimes we confuse getting ready or analyzing with the actual act of doing something. Have you ever met someone who is always busy planning something but never seems to get anything done? We often waste precious time by over preparing. Make no mistake, preparation is important; however, today’s rapid rate of change demands agility, flexibility and quick reflexes.

With today’s moving targets, bold action takes on, in many instances, more significance than analysis and painstaking preparation. What really needs to be done is continual analysis and planning while actually doing as much as possible to get you to your future goals. The enemy of good is perfect and in most things action beats brilliance!

Not doing extensive planning can seem chaotic to many people, but we live in chaotic times, which often requires some risk taking. Even when you have a fairly good idea of what the end objective looks like, most often you experience a chaotic path or hectic uneven flow of events getting there. You need to do the best job you can and attempt to predict where change will take you in the future. This prediction process is called informed strategic planning. Informed strategic planning is simply the act of gathering as much information about the future as possible and using that information in the formulation of long range plans.

Informed strategic planning allows you to lead change rather than follow it. The trick is to keep your actions closely linked with your anticipation of where things are going and continually make course corrections to meet your end objective.

It’s not enough to simply plan and talk a good game plan. You must take the required action to aggressively play the game. You must take the initiative to understand and plan for what your future may bring… and you must be quick to respond to change and become “action oriented.” This dual approach will lower the stress level and actually put fun into the action part of recreating yourself to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.

A Very Important Point: Today is important! Today really matters with regard to your personal growth. You must begin immediately, “today!” to develop and implement an action plan which will create your future. No one will do this for you. Creating your future is strictly up to you!

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About Ingbretsen Consulting LLC:
Coach and author Roger Ingbretsen is a certified executive coach and organizational developer, providing organizational and career guidance to professionals, managers, supervisors and all individuals looking for "real world" career development and business information. His entrepreneurial approach will help you learn how to plan, lead and succeed in your career. Roger is the creator of the “Leadership Development Coaching Experience©” and author of the personal development reference eBooks, “Plan Your Career Now: The Survival Guide for the American Workplace” and “Master Your Career: Proven Strategies for Career Success©.” To know more and claim dozens of Rogers free articles go to www.ingbretsen.com or call 509 999 7008.

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