Reinventing Yourself In 2010
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Reinvention 1
If you are looking to establish yourself in a new job or re-establish yourself in your old one, the question of ‘who are you' is critical. It's easy to continue on without any introspection about who we really are until we find that we are no one in particular. When someone else gets that promotion or is appointed to the dream job over you, we question Who Am I Really in the scheme of things?
Working out who you are in your organisation gives you an opportunity to ‘brand' that part of yourself that makes you unique. Are you the most efficient? Can you deliver projects on time and in budget better than anyone else? What makes you special in this role? if you don't know, make it January's job to find out before someone sells themselves better than you did. Then make a decision to do something about it.
Reinvention 2
In Tom Peter's book "Re-imagine: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age",(2003), the point is made that brands are not nouns but verbs. For example "...Apple opposes, IBM solves, Nike exhorts, Virgin enlightens, Sony dreams, Benetton protests..." (p.159). What is your verb? Your verb needs to describe what you do differently; your unique difference or dramatic ‘thing' that you do. Sharon initiates; Debra actions; Jo engages; Chris educates, Kim networks. Your verb helps show others the unique contribution you make to your workplace and is the defining difference between you and a dozen other people in your office. Make a decision to find out what your verb is today.
Reinvention 3
Where are you going? Running the same race the same way will get you the same result every time. If you are looking for a change in career or more inspirational work, you have to know where you are going. Specifically. A general idea or a few hunches isn't enough to get you there. Get an A3 sheet of blank paper and start doodling or mind-mapping on it. Find your favourite magazines and cut out anything that gives you a gut reaction of joy, excitement or sparks an interest. Stick them all on the A3 and don't worry if it doesn't look ‘nice'. The order will sort itself out later. Create a collage of ‘Who I Am and Where I Am Going' and mull on it for a few days. Then make a decision.
Reinvention 4
Making a decision...hmmmmm....can I put this off ‘til tomorrow?? Decisions feel hard so we procrastinate making them. Second-guessing our decision is another major obstacle to getting traction so don't. Realise that most of what you can count on in your process of getting to this point, can be counted on. Yes, sometimes things go wrong but a little risk analysis isn't a bad thing. If the risks are too high, change your alternatives. There is always more than one ‘right' decision but not taking a chance at some point will leave you frozen right where you are.
Reinvention 5
Here's a fun little exercise: conduct a SWOT analysis on yourself. SWOT is business talk for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. Make a list of your strengths, your weaknesses, any opportunities you could make more of for yourself and what threats might de-rail your progress. A key threat for many people is the negative self-talk which goes in our heads and convinces us we can't do something. Then decide where to from here!
