A vision of the future is necessary to be able to sustain a career today. I know this sounds ridiculous but as I reflect about my own career, had I done this, I could have avoided some career pitfalls. The recommendation I have is try to prognosticate a few different things to help you increase your marketability, achieve future success, and enhance your career. Time should be spent reviewing;
The organization-Spend some time looking at your own organization. Review things such as past performance. Ask yourself what was their claim to fame? What products or services did they provide to increase their revenue? Review how many employees work in the organization. Has the organization become to large? Have they started to lay off employees regularly? Take a look at whether or not the company has filled staffing holes left by recent attrition. At times organizations may not which can indicate that there is a cash problem, or maybe they are looking to re-organize how they operate. Some satellite offices can be in jeopardy, or maybe branches merged which can result in job loss for those employees.
Competitors-Write down all of your company's competitors. Ask yourself if your organization is still the pace setter in the industry or are your competitors gaining steam and even producing some better services and products. Are processes in the organization smooth or outdated? An indication that your current company is struggling is if it is being reactive, consistently, to what the competition is doing. A proactive approach means it is healthy and innovative.
Products and services-These two things are the life line of all organizations. People want a variety of products being offered, that have evolved with the times. There have been many companies that have not survived because there was no adjustments made to the things offered as time passed by. The other thing consumers want is excellent service. Providing a high quality service today is desired more sometimes than actual products being offered. Offering excellent service can negate lower prices being offered on products. People know they are paying for excellent customer service and are willing to do so.
Delivery Systems-Do products and services get to consumers consistently, without errors made or damages done? Has the organization changed how products and services get to its customers? Can they physically pick up packages or get it delivered? Is delivery done in a reasonable time? Are service agents available? Learning organizations offer service via in person, phone, instant messaging, text messaging, and on the Internet.
Yourself-Take an inventory of yourself. Ask yourself what are your short and long term goals? Do you enjoy your work or is it hard to get up in the morning to go to work? Measure whether the skills you offer still are of value to the organization or if they become outdated. Try to get a sense of whether or not you have a solid connection and support network at work, or have those dissipated. Some specific things that should be done are;
List goals-Ask yourself what you want to accomplish in the future. List out all personal and professional goals. Is there a family and children that you want? Do you want more education to enhance the skills you offer? All of these questions will help determine where you want to head in your career or if a makeover is needed.
Perform a SWOT analysis-This stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. List each of these things out on a sheet of paper. Be honest with yourself when listing these to help you paint a picture of the relationship you and your employer has. This analysis can be performed at the organizational level too.
These kinds of personal and professional exercises need to be performed because all organizations have a life span. You want to get a grasp of where the company is in their life span. Taking a glimpse of the business landscape can help you determine what the future may hold for you and your company. So take a moment, what does the future say about you and your company?
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