2009 is upon us, take the time to Reflect & Plan
Greetings All & Happy Pre-New Year!
I try my best to only write blog posts when they are informative and add potential value, thus it has been a while since I've blogged. The flip-side I suppose is sometimes my blog posts resemble short articles but oh well...
With 2009 upon us I thought I would share a bit of insight I have applied for the last three years of my career that you may find quite helpful. At the beginning of every year I sit down for 2 hours and write up a document that reflects my own personal thoughts on where my career has been and where it is headed. If you look at companies, they start out using what is called a business plan and they then continue their operations year after year with plans and review of actuals vs planned (you smell a bit of BI in this content?:). So I figured why not apply the same basic principals to an individual? I mean, are you on a career path or are you just 'riding the waves'? I ask this very question because I was one of the 'wave riders' and did ok to be honest but with a bit of planning and ofcourse discipline throughout the year you can truly set professional goals, obtain them, and then note the results.
It should also be a given that usually the harder you work as an individual, the more successful you will be in life. 2008 was a very challenging and intense year for me but in review it was also probably the best single year professionally I've been fortunate enough to experience yet. I do not intend for this to be some arrogant post about my personal career growth so let's move on (i'm far from perfect).
There are 3 basic sections of the document I referenced that I create:
- Where have you been (what did you accomplish) in the current year?
- Where are you going (what do you wish to accomplish) in the new year?
- Actions Items you believe will help you obtain the goals stated in #2
I hope this helps everyone as it has me quite a bit over the years!
Happy Holidays!
Derek Comingore
SQL Server MVP