Career Archives

How to Create a Career Progression Plan in 4 Steps

Do you have a career progression plan? How can you stand out from the crowd and get the position you want? While Positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout is primarily about positioning a business for success, they show how you can apply the same ideas to personal professional advancement. They outline four steps to create a career progression plan and position yourself for success. Read more to learn how to design a career progression plan based on the principles of Positioning.

Product Planning: Story Mapping & Customer Discovery

What is story mapping in reference to product planning? How does the customer discovery process help you find reference customers? There are two techniques you should use during the planning stage in product development: story mapping and customer discovery. Story mapping helps companies plan how to build products and customer discovery helps you find your loyal customers. Read about each technique below.

How to Save for Retirement If You Are Self-Employed

How do you save for retirement if you are self-employed? What are some retirement account options available to the self-employed? If you are self-employed, retirement is a little trickier to plan. No human resources staffer is going to choose a retirement account for you, help you fill out the application, and set up automatic payroll deductions. It’s all a do-it-yourself job. In this article, we’ll take a look at the various retirement account options available to you if you are self-employed.

Outstanding Leaders Challenge the Process

Three people business leaders with political clout standing side by side

What do Posner and Kouzes mean by “challenge the process” in the context of leadership? Do you always seek ways to improve your current processes? Challenging the process, as defined by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner in The Leadership Challenge, is all about a leader’s efforts to challenge the status quo and find ways to optimize organizational processes. There are two guidelines for challenging the process: 1) search for opportunities, and 2) experiment and take risks. In this article, we’ll take a look at the specific ways you can “challenge the process” to proactively drive your organization or team forward.

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: Overview

What is the book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There about? What are the 21 bad habits of successful people? In his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Marshall Goldsmith outlines the 21 bad habits that many successful people possess that prevent them from moving up the career ladder. He offers advice on how to replace those habits with more positive ones. Here is a brief overview of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith.

What Is a Product Development Engineer?

What role does the product development engineer play in the development process? How important are they and what are their responsibilities? In a product development team, engineers are considered to be one of the top three most important roles. There are usually multiple engineers working on different parts of a project and they often have the most extensive knowledge about the product. Here is the full description of the product development engineer’s role.

How to Be a Leader in a Society of Followers

Are you called to be a leader? Do you have a vision and the will to make it a reality? Our society is churning out followers instead of leaders. We need leaders today more than ever. In Tribes, Seth Godin argues that all you need to assume leadership is attitude and ability, and all you need to be a leader is a vision and the drive to pursue it. Keep reading to better understand whether you should rise up and be a leader.

The 3-Step Process to to Kicking Bad Workplace Habits

Are your bad workplace habits holding you back from getting noticed at work? Want to know how to get rid of bad habits? In his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Marshall Goldsmith explains that many professionals reach a plateau in their careers. This is because, in order to get out of middle management, you need to possess the right habits and skills. Continue reading to learn how to get rid of your bad habits so you can get noticed at work.

How to Foster a Culture of Empowerment at Work

Why is it important to empower your employees? What are some ways to empower your team in a meaningful way? Employees who feel strong and empowered under your leadership will perform well. Conversely, employees who feel powerless and incompetent will underperform, feel disengaged, and might even be looking for opportunities to leave an organization. To foster a culture of empowerment, follow these principles.

Accountability in Leadership: Stop These 5 Bad Habits

Why is accountability important in leadership? What are the five bad habits that you should look out for and improve on? Accountability in leadership is important to being respected by your employees and fellow leaders. However, many leaders tend to make these mistakes—even if they don’t notice it. These five bad habits all relate to avoiding accountability in leadership: making excuses for your poor behavior and refusing to take responsibility for your actions.