Enhance the Success of Your New Year’s Goals 5: Act

This continues our series on how the GoalsWork Model will help you improve your career

Jennifer worked as secretary to a plant manager. She possessed a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. She worked for the same company for six years: four while she got her degree and two since graduation. She informed management she earned her degree and waited for a promotion. None came.

She saw an opportunity to provide better human resource services, currently the responsibility of an overworked controller. She offered to help with a headquarters requested compensation comparison. She reached out to former classmates working in human resource. She submitted an excellent analysis. She started posting job ads and screening job applicants. She helped the control by distributing performance appraisal forms, training supervisors, processing completed forms,  and coordinating with headquarters HR to allocate salary increases. She regularly reported success to the plant manager, controller, and headquarters HR.

In fifteen months, the company promoted Jennifer to human resource generalist reporting to the controller. Within two years, they promoted Jennifer to human resource manager.

Words from Walt on Action

Walt Disney frequently commented on working and taking action. I don’t have space to list many:

• “People often ask me if I know the secret of success and if I could tell others how to make their dreams come true. My answer is, you do it by working”
• “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
• “Get a good idea, and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it’s done, and done right.”

The “A” in GoalsWork=Act

Jennifer had to act to get the promotion. You may learn from her actions. She

• Waited for a promotion and nothing happened
• Identified a need that she would enjoy filling
• Offered to help the controller—in addition to fulfilling her current responsibilities
• Focused on 2-4 things she could do and still keep the plant manager satisfied
• Reached out to others to mentor and help her

Follow this example to act on your goals.

Wednesday we examine how to solve the three kinds of limitations to your goal