Main

Professional Development Archives

July 21, 2009

Tipsheet: Career Performance

Career Performance

What do Stevie Wonder, Leonard Cohen, and Elton John all have in common? They are all musicians, all internationally famous, and they have all been writing music and performing for decades. But what accounts for their success?

  • They had great teachers and mentors.
  • They practiced their scales and rehearsed their music, and got very good at what they did.
  • They listened to other musicians, and incorporated other styles into their own.
  • They evolved, growing better - and different - over the years.
  • Despite a focus on the music, they didn't ignore the business of music.

This is exactly how successful people manage their careers: They invest in education, learn from their mentors, evolve over the years, and despite a focus on their current jobs, they actively manage their careers. They get very good at what they do.

This week's action item: Are you doing as well managing your career, as these musicians are in managing theirs? Look at the list above, and choose one thing that you may have been ignoring, and plan how to do more of it.

Postscript: We can't know whether Wonder's, Cohen's, and John's name in music will be as well known as Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven, but we do know that without working hard today, they won't have that long-term professional success. (And neither will you.)

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news to register.

Randall Craig
www.RandallCraig.com
www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news

About Professional Development

This page contains an archive of all entries posted to Make It Happen in the Professional Development category. They are listed from oldest to newest.

Planning is the previous category.

Professionally Speaking TV is the next category.

Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.