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Advancing Your Career

by Jeff Davidson    

A national survey of 500 human resource managers revealed that the number one concern of workers today is keeping their jobs. Yet, if you set goals that propel you to higher achievement, position you higher within your organization or with customers, and further the aims of your organization, or serve the needs of customers and clients (because you've internalized these goals hence made them your own), job security doesn't need to be an issue for you.

Read Client and Non‑client Publications

You have the smarts to continually uncover new opportunities. Read the publications of your clients as well as your own industry's publications. What better way do you have to understand the needs, fears, concerns and hot button issues of the people whom your organization serves?

Read publications as well that are entirely out of your field and out of the field of the customers you serve. Frequently, you can pick up ideas in publications that are otherwise totally unrelated to what you do. This form of cross‑fertilization can help you to stand out in your organization.

I go to the recycling bins in my town, and grab ten or twenty magazines off the top that I would not otherwise be inclined to pick up, and certainly not shell out good money for at stores. I flip through them at high speed, quickly detaching the articles and pages that look like they will be of some interest, and then I recycle the magazines.

Later, at my leisure, I go through the articles and again determine whether or not they're worth my time and attention. Often, I'll find myself highlighting specific passages, copying the article and sending it to an associate, or simply filing the article for future use. These articles represent a wellspring of ideas for me and they keep me at the forefront of my respective career pursuits. Dozens of anecdotes in this book came from such sources.

Attend a Lecture Outside of Your Field

Attend a lecture on a topic that would not normally interest you. Once again, benefit from the cross‑fertilization process. You hear ideas in totally different fields, and end up finding ways to link them back to what you do. In any community of 20,000 people or more, you can open the local paper and see a variety of groups meeting on any given night. Many of these groups have guest speakers.

Why not choose as a goal to attend one lecture per month on a topic that is not directly related to your career?

Become Interested in Other People

Ask others what they do and why they do it. Ask them what's new and innovative in their field. You can gain remarkable insights from a cab driver, housemaid, retail clerk, college student, or even government bureaucrat. You don't have to invest a lot of time and effort in this venture.

As a goal, why not take it upon yourself to simply talk with somebody totally outside of your field of work for as little as five minutes. If you do this once a week in the course of a year, you've had fifty‑two five‑minute conversations with people who have insights and experiences that you may never have otherwise tapped into.

Study the Movers and Shakers in Your Field.

Look toward the people in your industry or profession who make the most profound impact. You know, the superstars, the ones who are always in the trade press, or who are regarded as the leading thinkers in the industry.

What do they do that's different than the rest? Study all you can about them, because, as Dr. Wayne Dyer notes, "success leaves clues."


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Jeff Davidson, MBA, CMC, is a popular conference speaker and author of 28 books, including Breathing Space (Feb 2000). For books, videos, cassettes, or presentations, visit http://www.BreathingSpace.com, FAX (919) 932-9982, or call (919) 932-1996.