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How To Grow Your Career
Date Added: November 19, 2008 11:46:20 AM
Follow all the lessons learned in college or in the business books, and they’ll tell you that the smartest people with talent will win out every time. Certainly that is true - to a point. But it is merely the price of admission. Think of the analogy of buying a car. Great gas mileage is the minimum acceptable criteria for consideration, but if every vehicle meets the 30 mpg level, what becomes the differentiator?
To win you have to develop a strong strategy for outwitting and outsmarting the person in accounting or sales who is just as experienced and smart. Yes, it is a power/zero-sum game. The only caveat is that you want to always maintain your integrity.
Always try to see the big picture. Think of it as a chess match where you have to look five to six moves ahead. Certainly your strategy will have long-term goals, but winning the game requires short-term tactics and making the right moves to put you in position to capture the king. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices, but do so with your career goals at the forefront of your mind.
Don’t underestimate the competitor. You have to assume that he or she is equally talented and can get the same information as you. Your key will be to become a better analyst. Do your homework, understand the business, dig deeper to find solutions, come up with new ideas, create coherent presentations and then get them to your boss. Work hard to make your boss look like a hero.
Take risks. You have to not only stay current; you have to move to the cutting edge.
Be a strong manager who is surrounded by strong people. You need people who will help get you where you need to go. Some of our greatest leaders were people who had the strongest people around them.
Keep your enemies close. Know your competition. They have strengths and weaknesses, and they will make contributions to the company. Your goal is not to be disparaging or conduct personal attacks. Quite the contrary: You want to get out ahead of them. You want to set the pace so that you are perceived as a leader. |
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