Career Success - A Winning Career Game Plan

By John Groth

Build a career planning tool box to achieve career success.

We all have our favorite coaches, and if they coach our favorite athletic team, it's a plus. Tom Landry tried to measure the character of his players. Vince Lombardi expected and achieved excellence. Dean Smith brought out the best in his players while playing within the rules. John Wooden spent extra time in designing the best practices possible. Superior coaching is about being our best and beyond.

A significant number of Coach Lombardi's players, for example, achieved financial and personal success outside football. Coaching is about performance whether its career planning or on the athletic field. Effective career planning with an experienced job coach will help us get on the right career path to plan, manage and advance our career.

As a career planning guide the best coach to bring out your peak performance is the person you see in the mirror every morning. If you can't pay for a personal career coach, or maybe there's no one available or you aren't ready, why not be your own career planning coach? Here's a successful and winning game plan to follow:

1. Write out your Personal Career Planning Guide: Write out your career goals. Your career development plan should be specific and measurable. There is power in writing and planning your career goals. Put a copy up on your screen saver. Write out your career plan on 3x5 cards and place them where you can read them daily. Think about your career objectives and frequently bring them up to date. Celebrate whenever you reach a milestone. This step is the most important in your career planning tool box.

2. Focus on your Career Development: Eliminate distractions and keep your eye on your career goals. Life normally is full of frustrations and distractions. Successful coaches do not tolerate the things that drive most of us crazy - they take the time to stop, solve the problem and eliminate the distraction once and for all. Stay focused on your career plan.

3. Control your Surroundings: Top performers know that space management is as important as time management. They generally have neat offices, clean cars, orderly appointment books, and they plan for the unexpected, just in case. Make your space is as productive as possible and you can put your very best work.

4. Superior Performance Today: Don't dwell on the past. It can't be changed. Work your career planning strategy by doing your best today. Show up, be attentive, bear down and do your best. Your outstanding performance today will coach you to reach and exceed your future career plans. Many of life's most important achievements are about doing a superior job right now, on the work that lies right in front of you. Dwelling on the big game next month will only cause you to lose focus on you career plans; the job in front of you is to get the most out of today's work (practice) so when the big game arrives you'll be more that ready to excel.

5. Build daily reading into your Career Plan: As part of your career plan, set aside some time to read something useful, motivating or fun every day. If you enjoy reading science fiction, for example, make a deal with yourself for every science fiction novel you read you'll read two motivation or career related books. Plan on reading at least two books a month, build it into your career planning. Manage your other reading. Everything that comes across your desk or in your email does not have to be read. Use the delete button or the round file. You'll now have more time to read something that advances your career plan. Reading will make a world of difference in coaching you to reach your career goals outlined in your career plan.

6. Make the time in your car Productive: During your commute or when you're driving plan on listening to motivational, educational, learn a language, or just plain fun CD's. The radio is wall to wall commercials or the latest murder and mayhem; not productive use of your time. You'll be furthering your career plan by turning this unproductive time to into something useful. It's always good career advice to surround yourself with the best information available.

7. Develop a Career Coaching Group: As you advance in your career you'll come across people who can help you become successful. Stay in contact with them. Think of them as your "assistant coaches." Run ideas by them, ask for their advice and be open to let them coach you.

8. Build Play and Fitness into your Career Plan: Get fit. Go for a long walk. Use the basketball hoop in the driveway. Have fun, laugh, enjoy the day with friends and family. Build play and fitness into your career plan. Be balanced in your career life planning. Don't neglect the physical side of your career path planning.

10. Be Thankful of your Gifts: Look back on the past week. Ask yourself how many good days or events did you have in the past week. What made them good? Plan on doing more of the good stuff and less of the not so good. Be grateful and thankful to others. Practice a positive attitude.

Having a number of career planning guides like those listed above in your career tool box to assist you in your coaching will help keep you on your planned path. Having written career goals, with a career planning strategy and your books, CD's, friends along with your routine will all help coach you to career success.

Search out the best resources you can find. Build your career plan into your daily routine. Overall your career planning should not be expensive and you'll find it to be one of the best investments you'll ever make. Coach yourself to success.