Earlier this week I had the opportunity to present at a corporate conference on one of my favorite marketing topics. Instead of discussing my presentation, I want to point out the importance of goals.
The simple truth is having a goal, vision (or whatever you want to call them) helps you keep your focus on what’s important. Without an idea of where you want to go, how will you know how to get there?
Imagine you are going to go on a road trip. You get your bags and just start packing random clothes, gear and equipment. You hop into your car and just start driving. After days and days of driving you finally stop and look at where you are and realize you don’t like it. You have no idea how you got there, no map to go back and no idea which direction to go next.
Your journey in life is like a road trip. The only way it will be successful is if you know where you want to go. Then you know what clothes to pack, what gear to bring. You know how to track your progress on a map and if you get lost, how to find your way back to the right highway.
I have a goal that I will be a keynote speaker at a conference. This week I got one step closer to that goal.
What are your goals?
Supporting THEIR Career Path
“Every senior person in an organisation should be aware of the less glamorous – and often less-promotable – work that needs to happen to make a team successful. Managed deliberately, glue work demonstrates and builds strong technical leadership skills. Left unconscious, it can be career limiting. It can push people into less technical roles and even out of the industry.”
This doesn’t just apply to Engineers but to any department including Marketing. Take a good look at your team and see who’s doing the glue work. If its not you, as the leader of the team, then you need to acknowledge that person’s work and find out if they’re doing what they actually want to do with their career.
Its on you as a leader to not only start, but always discussing career paths with your employees and supporting them as necessary. Read the article below or watch the presentation.
Read: Being Glue – No Idea Blog
Watch: Being glue – Tanya Reilly
Evolving as a Leader and a Person
I know you’ve heard it a hundred times, but its always okay to hear it again: Bring value, lift people up, and don’t let others set your career path for you. It won’t happen fast and will take thousands of little steps, but its worth the journey.
There’s a lot of people who develop their personality sometime between the ages of 16-24 then hold onto it for the rest of their lives. Life is a journey and its okay to change over time as your education, experiences and personal relationships evolve. Its the best part of this life, you’re allowed to change.
No sunk costs. If you want the things you’ve never had, you have to do the things you’ve never done.
How I am evolving into who I need to be
Connection to People | Get Better Friday
In lieu of a Get Better Friday message, I’d like to remind you to do things that make you happy. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to speak at the Ewing Leadership Conference this week and spend time with the amazing people in this industry. I cherish these times I get to be around so many brilliant people, many 9
I’m also thankful for my time with family. This picture is from the top of the Crystal Springs trail looking over a section of the Catalina National Forest, one of the many hikes my son and I accomplished last weekend. Remember its our connection to people that matter. Family, friends, co-workers, its the people that make life.
