Answer

Thinking About Strategic Career Planning

Play-To-Win Career Canvas

 

 

 

Why do You Need a Career Plan? Why?

 

What do you now do for a living (your job – your income)?  I am currently work as a software consultant. I also have a few side businesses which I manage including my family’s business. I earn $55,000 from software consulting and $20,000 from managing the businesses on an annual basis.

How do you currently do your job – earning a living? I make myself valuable in the business by establishing business management goals and encourage the staff members to follow them to ensure business prosperity and growth. I also strive to meet my personal objectives such as reporting to work on time to keep my job.  

 

Why do you do what you do (your job – your career – your income)? I work as a software consultant because I enjoy doing the consulting work and encouraging people on ways their can grow their businesses. Also, I enjoy educating people about technology advancements and how they can use it for the benefits of their businesses and overcome the vulnerabilities associated with them. Although I currently earn some income, I require more income to be able to start my own business in the future.

 

Now describe WHY you need a new career plan (what is working, what is not working, what are the challenges or problems you are facing, what is your potential, what opportunities exist for you?).  I need a new career plan to assist me in making informed choices about my current job. With the new plan, I will have the ability to grow and expand my earnings since I have a strong opportunity of advancing in my self-employed business because of my great potential and experience in the field of management.

 

 

 

 

Current Strengths

 

List your personal strengths (capabilities, skills, knowledge) and how these strengths apply to your current job and career.

 

I am assertive, a strong communicator, and effective collaborator, and I am confident in my experience

 

 

 

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Current Weaknesses

 

List your personal weaknesses (capabilities, skills, knowledge) and how these limitations apply to your current job and career (and earning potential).

 

I am not an effective listener. I do not have enough experience in the field of management especially when it comes to conflict resolution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current Opportunities

 

List current opportunities that exist in the marketplace TODAY (jobs, careers, technologies, training, industries, promotions, etc.).

 

Different management job opportunities exist in the marketplace today. For instance, different job openings exist in property management and general management among others. Executive and management careers are also opportunities being currently experienced with more openings in the outlines areas.

 

 

 

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Current Threats

 

List current threats that exist in the market TODAY (jobs, careers, technologies, training, industries, promotions, etc.).

 

Jobs are competitive as finding the one which matches one’s career goals proves to be a challenge. Requisite training is required for one to obtain a competitive career position in the field as more people are increasingly becoming qualified to fill the vacant positions. Also, it takes a while before promotions are considered as most persons in the field are focused on gaining promotions, and hence put extra efforts in their work.

 

 

 

  

Future Strengths

 

List the personal strengths that you will need to succeed in tomorrow’s market and how these strengths apply to your career aspirations.

 

 To succeed in y future career, I need to be a transparent communicator.  This will make it easier for me to listen to my team members and also become clear about my expectations to be successful in business.

 

 

 

 

Future Weaknesses

 

List the personal weaknesses and how these personal limitations apply to your future job and career (and earning potential).

 

 Time management is my primary weakness. Time management is associated with my future career as the employees will look up to me to understand the importance of time. Failing to keep time affects my earning potential as it reduces the amount of time I spend on the job which suggests a low earning potential.

 

 

 

 

Future Opportunities

 

List opportunities that will exist in future markets (jobs, careers, technologies, training, industries, promotions, etc.).

 

In the future, more people are likely to be self-employed suggesting that more jobs will be available in prominent companies. Also, promotions are more likely as employees seek to attract more permanent workforce.

 

 

 

 

Future Threats

 

List threats that will exist in future markets (jobs, careers, technologies, training, industries, promotions, etc.).

 

The rates of investments in training and development will increase as firms offering the management positions will seek to discourage the upcoming private ventures which discourage employees from engaging in self-employment.

 

 

 

Canvas Page

 

Play-To-Win Career Canvas

 

 

Name:         Date:

 

 

1: Career Aspirations/Goals

 

Use this space to list your career aspirations and goals. What do you want to achieve? What do you aspire to be? Concisely and meaningfully describe your bold and measurable career aspirations for 3 years, 10 years, and 25 years in the future.

In the next 3 years, I  plan to Increase my professional knowledge by enrolling and completing a master’s course in management. This will provide me with requisite knowledge needed to be an effective manager.

In the next 10 years, I plan to Increase my earnings by at least 40% so that I can cater for my expenses without much strain

 

In the next 25 years, I plan to have at least 10 new experiences in my leadership role to fit within the field of management easily and become one of the best known managers across the globe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Where to Work

 

Based on preliminary personal analyses (e.g. a personal swot analysis, 5-forces analysis, etc.) succinctly identify the various potential career playing fields (geographic, industry, job title, etc.). More importantly, describe where you will NOT play in your career (types of jobs, geographic locale, industries, etc.). Also describe your current career playing field and current career trajectory; and to this describe what you should change.

 

I plan to work to work in my own software consulting firm in the US as a consultant and manager. However, I will not venture into retail businesses because they are highly time consuming. Although I plan to expand internationally, I will not consider places like Bangladesh and Egypt because of their undesirable worker rights.

 

 

 

 

 

3. How to Win: Achieve Your Career Goals

 

Use this space to develop a job/career strategy that will guarantee the attainment of your aspirations in your chosen playing field. How will you compete against others for the best jobs or customers? Will you focus on costs/salary – how will you differentiate yourself? What is your value proposition?

 

I will attend seminars with prominent leaders in the management field to learn how they became successful. I will also compete with others by relying on an effective management approach which includes the staff members in the process of decision making to facilitate a team growth. I will also focus on cost differentiation by providing my services at affordable and discounted cost. My value proposition is to become the best software consultant in the US offering consumers with a value for their money through the delivery of effective high-end services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Capabilities Needed

 

List the critical knowledge, skills, and abilities that you must possess to win at the highest level in your chosen playing field.

 

Effective problem solving capability and a strong knowledge capability about the field of management is also necessary to become valuable in the management field.

 

 

 

 

5. Systems Required

 

List the checks and balances needed to ensure you are pursuing the best possible career path to best realize your true potential. What metrics will you use?

 

I will make comparisons of my monthly income after opening my business and what I am currently earning in my family’s business. I will also compare my level experience in management based on the number of years I have been working as a manager to draw a conclusion of the changes.

 

 

 

 

6: Reverse Engineering (What must be true?)

 

What must be true for your strategy (your choices) to be true? What conditions must be met, and what potential barriers to success are lurking? Is your industry stable or growing? Are customers in your industry likely to demand your product/services now and in the future? Could competitors and alternative industries impact your job/career? What must be true about your job? About your capabilities?

 

Advancing up my career ladder by becoming my own boss is a metric which will show that I am on the best career path. To maximize my earning potential, I have to gain more knowledge and skills in the field of management. This will be achieved by furthering my studies to become even better in the field. Evidently, the management field is still growing and customers are also likely to demand retail commodities if tasks and processes are effectively managed.

 

 

 

7: Strategic Testing & Career Surveys

Describe how you will test the “what must be true” conditions listed above? Be sure to prioritize the conditions – which are the MOST important? Also make sure your tests are simple, fast, and frugal (lean).

 

Gaining knowledge and experience in the field of management is the most important. I must learn how to be an effective manager which is reflected by being an effective listener and timekeeper. To test this, I will gauge how I effectively listen to subordinates while in the workplace without interrupting them during communication. I would consider people as my father, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim cook to be my long term career advisors because they have been successful in the field of management. 

 

 

 

 

 

8: Consequences Positive (what if?)

 

This is the “motivation” section of the exercise. List what will happen to you and those you care for “if and when” you achieve your aforementioned career aspirations.

 

I will have a better income and a strong position within the business field through a better experience. The persons who I care for will live more comfortably due to a better financial standing derived as a result of my career success.

 

 

 

 

 

9: Consequences Negative (what if?)

 

More motivation, but on the negative side. List what will happen to you and those in your inner circle if you continue on your current career path and do NOT achieve your career aspirations.

 

I will continue struggling to cater for my personal expenses while those in my inner circle will not live comfortably as they will have to get an extra job to make life easier.

 

 

 

Analysis and Summary of the Plan

            I am a competent software consultant and a business manager. However, I aspire to advance further in the field of management by establishing my personal businesses in the field of software consulting where I will manage the business personally. I am currently employed as a software consultant and I manage several businesses at the side, including my family business. However, the monthly compensation is not enough to satisfy my needs. Moreover, I lack enough experience and funds to start my business. By working in the family business and the other businesses at the side, I am presented with an opportunity to put my skills to practice and gain an experience in the field of management. Moreover, I am exposed to an environment whereby I can generate an income which I can further use to invest in my business start-up, thus creating an opportunity for myself to generate better income on a monthly basis.

            However, there are several key issues which I need to consider before starting my business. For instance, I lack effective listening skills and proper time management capabilities. Also, I lack enough managerial experience to start my venture and to ensure that it remains successful against competition. However, through taking part in training and seeking the assistance of mentors in the field of management, I can overcome this challenges and meet my goals and career vision. For instance, I have a vision of increasing my knowledge and skills in the field of management within the next 3 years. Moreover, I focus on growing my income by at least 10% within the next four years and to advance up my career ladder. These aspects can only be achieved by investing in training and development with an aim of developing my areas of weakness, building on my skills, and advancing my experience to become better in the market.

 

 

 

 

 

Reflection Paper: What is strategic management and how does it relate to firm performance or sustainability?

            The current business trends provide an indication that change is the only inevitable thing. A firm which seeks to survive and succeed in the current business environment should focus on strategically managing all the resources available within its disposal with a focus of achieving a maximum outcome by the end of the day. Through an effective strategic management approach, businesses are likely to devise effective means of remaining competitive in the market and hence, obtaining even higher profits.

Strategic Management

            Strategic management refers to the process of planning, managing, and analyzing with an aim of achieving the set goals and objectives of the firm. Strategic management is important since it assists the firm in having an outlook of where it currents stand and a vision of where it plans to be in the future. Strategic management is desirable for a business since it takes advantage of the resources of the firm to come up with a strategy which assist the firm in achieving its set goals and objectives (Mohamad, Behnaz & Elham, 2012). According to Sammut-Bonnici (2015), strategic management is important for businesses since it aids in improving competitive advantage. Evidently, strategic management will guide firms to evaluate its internal and external environments before turning to planning activities. Through planning, the business will identify the right business models, competitive tactics and international strategies which ensure that the firm performs better in comparison to the competitors in the market. However, effective leadership is required for an effective strategic management process. Prevos (2009) states that during the phase of implementation, leadership is needed to build the appropriate organizational structure while developing management culture, control and strategic processes that steers the business through the corporate governance efforts.

 

 

Strategic Management and Firm Performance

            Strategic management and business performance are directly related concepts. Ayanda and Oyinlola (2014) reiterate this factor by depicting that on average, strategic planning positively impacts the performance of a business. This factor is represented by the fact that a positive relationship is noted between the formal strategic planning and the business’ financial performance. Notably, factors such as capital intensity, the size of the firm, and environmental turbulence are known to influence business performance with varied rates of formal strategic planning. Moreover, it is clear that an effective means of strategic planning positively impacts the profitability and growth of the business. However, it is evident that the strong planning-profitability correlation experienced by firms is only positively recorded during turbulent cases (Prevos, 2009).

            Strategic management and firm performance are also directly related constructs since planning results to an improvement of the firm’s performance by restructuring operations, ensuring time management optimization, and ensuring that the resources are appropriately leveraged. Arguably, from small business ventures to large organizational enterprises, the managers will always rely on strategic planning as a means of empowering the organization to make the most of its resources (Ayanda & Oyinlola, 2014). An organization with its staff members will function effectively when they are focused on achieving a specific goal. Through strategic planning, the information available focused on determining whether specific areas of the business should be optimized are utilized with an aim of improving on the business’ performance.