Preparing for Your Next Move

I think Ed Lee hit the nail when he recently blogged about the Annual Review keeping the FH Bloggers from, well blogging. I’m told to spend no more than a few hours on preparing my self assessment, anything more is too much. I think in total, I’ve worked on/thought about my self assessment for at least 15 or more hours. I just turned it in last night but am still thinking about it and probably will continue to for the next few weeks.

I think it’s an annual process that shouldn’t be taken lightly. You’re reflecting on an entire year and forecasting out an entire year. I think that takes a lot more then just a few hours. It can be draining and daunting but is imperative to determining your next move. I conduct a SWOT on myself and a Situation Analysis on me within the company and my group every year at this time. It’s defined as:

A strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture or in any other situation of an organization or individual requiring a decision in pursuit of an objective.

I think it’s an eye opening habit that is vital. Taking inventory of strengths and weaknesses is necessary when determining your SWOT, and your Situation Analysis is important in determining if you can accomplish your goals. (Must be all of those years in Marketing speaking.) After you’re done you can feel great about the situation you’re in and where you see yourself going. However, the opposite can be said as well. It can be devastating to see on paper the situation you’ve allowed yourself to get in.

I think a good source for tips and ideas is David Maister’s blog. Here’s one of my favorite pieces he’s done on you and your career.

Annual reviews can be draining, and I think it’s important to take them seriously, and spend more then just a few hours on them. After the next few weeks I plan to see FH’ers blogging more. Hopefully we all come out of our annual reviews feeling charged and ready to accomplish our goals.

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