Digital Career? 9 / 24 / 240 Month Plans

Every generation of humans have faced transformative influences on their careers.

In the 1700s the impact might be felt a couple of times during a person's lifetime. In the 2000s thus far the impact is being felt couple of times in a decade. It is my belief that in the next couple of decades our careers will face that impact multiple times.

This then begs the question, what can you do to manage your career proactively? The alternative is that someone else will manage it for you, with sub-optimal outcomes.

I believe in a three-pronged strategy. I call it: Now, Next. Long.

Now (9 Months Horizon) Planning.

What are you doing now so that nine months from now your boss/partner will look at you and see incrementally better performance?

Do you understand the most essential element that differentiates good people in your role from the magnificent people in your role?

And... What did you do in the last 96 hours to get a little better at it?

Most of us rarely have this leaned-in posture to getting better in the roles we hold at this very moment.

Answer the three questions for yourself.

[My latest blog post covers the answers to the first two questions in a much deeper way, and recommends what Analysts - my area of expertise - should do to get better: Digital Analytics + Marketing Career Advice: Your Now, Next, Long Plan]

Next (24 Months Horizon) Planning.

Regardless of if you are an Accountant, Director of Logistics, Restaurant Manager or Digital Analyst, there are underlying changes happening inside your industry, your broad ecosystem and in every type of technology you are using.

Do you know what is going to be dramatically different about your ecosystem 24 months from now?

What business entities are delivering the innovative solutions and ideas that will have most influence on your job type?

How much in control are you of your own education on those dimensions?

It can be hard to see two years out, with the pace of change that is upon us. Yet, it is critical to answer these questions, and develop a plan for your education.

I don't just mean going to university or taking an online course. For the most bleeding edge thinking, your best bet is to pick brilliant thought leaders to stay in touch with, devour videos on YouTube and, of course, read books.

The thing most impacting my world is all variations of Machine Learning that is bringing the promise of Artificial Intelligence to life. For Digital Marketers and Analysts, there is a clear to-do list of books, videos, people and courses. If you are not in that space, please create your own.

Long (240 Months) Planning.

This is the hardest to plan for. Especially if you are in a digital role.

You still have to systematically have some kind of True North you are shooting for.

I recommend a thought exercise.

Get in front of a whiteboard. Draw a medium-sized box on it.

Inside the box, write down the three bullet points that are your current job.

Now write the word Automated on top of the box.

Answer this question: If my entire job was automated tomorrow morning, what's my value to my employer?

It is a tough exercise. Perhaps you feel there is no way on planet Earth your entire job will get automated. Do the thought exercise. Trust me.

After you've pondered the above question, consider the inputs into your job and consider the outputs of your job.

For a Digital Marketer, the inputs are deeper understanding of audiences, business challenges, strategic choices etc. The outputs are multiplicity of outcomes, driving deeper relationships, creating a sense of urgency etc.

There. Right there you have the starting points of your Long plan. Things you need to start working on to expand your competencies and savvy, to ensure that as things change over a longer period of time you'll be better placed to take advantage of them.

The work you are going to do on your Now plan and your Next plan of course add to that.

Your goal at the end of this Now, Next, Long exercise is to have a methodical plan that will allow you to be in control of your destiny.

Now go... Crush it!