Last Lecture 2016

I can’t wait to go back and read the last, “Last Lecture” I wrote for a previous class.  I imagine it’ll be much different from this one because of all I’ve learned in that time.  I thought about going back before, but I think the contrast will be more telling if I’m not reminded of what I said.

This class can be summed up into one quote for me.  “Work on your career, not just in your career.”  I’ve changed the original quote because I still have very little intention of owning my own business, but I consider myself and my brand as my business.  What I need to keep working on is me personally. 

I will not improve upon me without specific and planned action.  It won’t happen just by showing up to class, to work, or to life in general.  Much like my Gym Membership doesn’t do me any good unless I actually workout, professional development takes work. 

When I show up each day, I now plan what I’m going to do, not solely so I don’t forget anything, but more so I’ll be able to see what I’ve done, how I did it, and what I learned.

If I have a meeting where I present, before I go in I ask myself what I’m going to get out of it professionally.  Am I going to be a more direct speaker? Am I going to make sure others feel heard? Am I going to show how much knowledge I have?  When I come out of the meeting then I go over what worked and what didn’t.  I get feedback from others if possible and I try to learn from it. 

By having this targeted objective I can make sure that I’m not just going through the motions for my employer, but really making sure I’m getting better at each and everything I do.  What worked well, what didn’t, and how will I improve upon it for next time?  Those are all things that are leaned when you “work on your career, not just in your career.”

Time Marches On

I believe “Time Marches On” is a song title, but it’s also how I feel about my life.  I can see the phrase works in business as well.  Time will continue to pass, with or without our permission. While we can’t control many things that happen around us, we have complete control over what happens within us.

In reading E-Myth and other articles over this semester my biggest takeaway is to be observant and plan for the picture.  It’s so easy in our work, business, or even family to get caught up in the day to day “operations” that we forget to plan for the future.

The past couple years I’ve been blessed to be in a position at work that gives me ample time for reflection.  That will be changing in a few weeks as I move to a new position that is much faster paced.  I will have to make time to make sure I “work on (my) business, not just in (my) business.”  My career is my business, it’s my brand and I need to be focused on growing it.  If I just go in and learn my job and get lost in the work, I’ll eventually get burned out and time will have passed with little growth done.  If instead I focus everyday on what I’m going to do to grow and then at the end of the day evaluate what went right, what wrong, and what I learned I will make sure that I’m using the time that’s passing to its fullest possibilities.  To me, that will be success.

Good Example

As we’re nearing the end of this semester I’m starting to reflect on what I’ve learned over this course.  I’m looking forward to going back and reading these blogs again as this has been quite an adventurous time in my life.

I feel lucky to have been able to read about some great business people and situations they have been in to help shape me.  I can’t believe how many times I keep coming back and quoting E-Myth or talking about an Acton Hero in my day to day work.

This week we were in negotiation on our house as the inspections had come back in and indicated a few problems, one of which we hoped we’d had more time on and that was the roof.  Watching our real estate agent work though was really impressive as he tried to look out for our best interest while still being realistic about the market place and the situation we found ourselves in.  He looked for the Win-Win.  He was a great example of all the things we’d been reading about.  He takes great care in making sure the customer is satisfied and often views everyone as his customer, because down the road they could be.

I’m preparing for the presentations of our $100 challenge and stating what I’ve learned from it.  I was certainly not successful, but I feel there are many things to learn none the less.