1. Strive sensibly, not sensationally. Dilbert creator Scott Adams contends that setting sensational goals is a recipe for disappointment, regret, and failure. “The world is completely unpredictable now,” he said in a recent interview with Fast Company. “You can’t predict where your career will be in a year. You can’t predict what technologies will change the world. You can’t predict whether robots will be taking your jobs. So picking a goal in this world has its downsides.”
2. Take the road less traveled. As a young man in his native Austria, Peter Drucker couldn’t have dreamed of his future as the world’s preeminent management guru. That was not a career option then. (And only became so in large part to Drucker’s efforts.) Drucker came to the United States in 1937, while in his late 20s, and slowly but steadily built a career as an esteemed professor, multimillion-selling author, and sought-after consultant to major corporations, nonprofits, and even several presidential administrations. There are times when leaders don’t take the road less traveled—they pave it.
3. Ride the waves of societal change. Today,Drew Gilpin Faust is president of Harvard University. But what if, as a young college graduate in 1968, she had locked into one career goal? It would have shut her out of a position that, more than four decades later, came about only when society moved into a new, more enlightened direction. When Faust graduated from Bryn Mawr College in the late ‘60s, the thought of one day becoming a university president, much less at a place like Harvard, was futile: “I would’ve had to be quite crazy to have such a notion in my head at that age,” she told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year.
4. Be multidimensional. Careers evolve as we evolve.After leaving office in 1981, President Jimmy Carter forged a highly meaningful, multidimensional career. With his wife Rosalynn, he created the Carter Center, a nonprofit public policy center dedicated to fighting disease, hunger, poverty, conflict, and oppression around the world, and also became a professor at Emory University and a best-selling author and poet. (Not to mention he’s now the most famous Sunday school teacher in Georgia.) No one ever identified that combination of roles and positions as a career goal. But Carter didn’t limit himself to previous notions of what ex-presidents should do with their lives. He staked out and claimed uncharted territory.
5. Act with mindfulness. To think clearly about the future, your mind must be up to the task. This is one reason that mindfulness is so hot today. And if you think it’s not accepted in the business world, think again. Consider Jeremy Hunter, a contributor to Mindful magazine, who recently was named Professor of the Year for the fourth time at the Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University. Hunter has long taught mindfulness to executive-education students, and describes his series, The Executive Mind, as “demanding and transformative.” What began as a seven-week pilot class became so popular it morphed into 28 weeks of mindfulness-based programming.
By using your personal intelligence, a brighter, more successful future is within your grasp. Put these five strategies to work today—for the sake of your tomorrow.
Additional information:
Chief Executive Group exists to improve the performance of U.S. CEOs, senior executives and public-company directors, helping you grow your companies, build your communities and strengthen society. Learn more at chiefexecutivegroup.com.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
