Career planning was never something I spent any time on. As my career ideas centred on working for the right people who would recognise any talent that I had...and I was lucky, I worked for some superb CEO's.
As I have got older it has become more evident to me that if you don't watch for trends in business, if you are not looking for business ideas, if you are not developing your skills in new business trends...then you are not just NOT moving forward...you are actually going backwards and your career choices become limited
BUT
One vital aspect is recognising that self improvement is not just about adding to your skillset...
No.... it is about fine tuning and auditing the existing business skills including and most importantly the soft skills that all businesses need.
So how much time do you spend on your personal improvement..honestly? Remember social media can be a huge asset in addressing your business leadership skills. (Listen to a podcast whilst waiting for the train, reading your RSS feeds whilst waiting for a meeting...downloading an ebook for reading in the hotel)
No matter how busy you are you can find even 15 minutes of downtime to
- Review and assess your existing skills and action ways of keeping them up to date
- Add to that existing skillset by looking at trends in business, business ideas from adjacent markets, business opportunities that are emerging.
