STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR
YOUR CAREER
Cheryl Clark Bonner
February 8, 2014
My Career Transitions
A GOAL IS A DREAM TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
By attending this session, you will learn:
 To state your dreams as goals
 To connect your goals to specific actions
 To add new tools in your tool box to take charge
of your career
 How to start a strategic plan for your career
A GOAL IS A DREAM TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
What were some of your career dreams when you
were a kid?
A GOAL IS A DREAM TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
What are some of your career goals now?
A GOAL IS A DREAM TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
What do you dream of doing with your life?
A GOAL IS A DREAM TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
Why haven’t you accomplished these things?
QUOTES ON GOALS
How do you go from where you are to where you
want to be? I think you have to have an
enthusiasm for life. You have
to have a dream, a goal and
you have to be willing to
work for it.
Jim Valvano
LIVE THE LIFE YOU
HAVE IMAGINED..
BARRIERS
Those things that get in our way!
TMB PANYEE FC SHORT FILM

http://youtu.be/jU4oA3kkAWU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU4oA3kkAWU
BARRIERS
What was their goal?
 What barriers did they face?
 How did they overcome their barriers?
 What happened when they had a chance to take
it the next level?
 How did they react when they were faced with
adversity at the tournament?

BARRIERS & YOU

How does the story of the boys from Panyee
impact you and your goals?
STRATEGIC PLANNING 101
 Strategic
Analysis
 Setting Strategic Direction
 Action Planning
 Writing and Communicating the
Plan
 Monitoring the Plan
 Evaluating the Plan
 Adjusting the Plan
STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR
YOUR CAREER
 Clearly
define our purpose and set goals
 Communicate goals and objectives to the
important people in our lives
 Take control of our lives and not abdicate
the power to others or external forces
 Ensure the most effective use is made of
our resources by focusing the resources on
the key priorities
 Provide a base from which progress can be
measured and establish a mechanism for
informed change when needed
QUOTES ON GOALS
Most of us serve our ideals by fits and starts. The
person who makes a success of living is one who
sees his goal steadily and aims for it
unswervingly. That's dedication!
Cecil B. DeMille
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS:
SELF- ASSESSMENT
SWOT Analysis
 Strengths
 Weaknesses
 Opportunities
 Threats
GETTING YOU THINKING:
STRENGTHS
• Things
I really enjoy doing
• A few of the best moments of the
past month
• Three things I’d do if I won the
lottery
• Issues or causes I care deeply
about
• Things I can do at the good-toexcellent level
THE FLIP SIDE
• One
thing that I believe gets in the
way of my success is …
• My weak areas that I will need to
deal with in order to reach my
career goals are…
• My weak areas that I will need to
manage in order to meet my goals
are …
LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES
How you could make a difference in
these different places by using your
strengths:
 Family
 Friends
 Work unit
 Work organization/company
 Community
 World
MORE QUESTIONS…
 What
would you do if you knew you
would not fail?
 What kinds of problems do you most
like to solve?
 What kinds of questions do you most
like to help people find answers to?
STILL MORE QUESTIONS…
 What
are your favorite hobbies or
interests?
 If you could write a book, what would
it be about?
 What knowledge of yours do you most
like to display to other people?
 What are you doing when you feel
most alive?
QUOTES ON GOALS
It's not so much how busy you are,
but why you are busy. The bee is
praised. The mosquito is swatted.
QUOTES ON GOALS
Many people fail in life, not for
lack of ability or brains or even
courage but simply because they
have never organized their
energies around a goal.
Elbert Hubbard
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
What can I accomplish …Realistically?
Goals should be:
Achievable - It is your power to achieve
this goal
 Believable - It is consistent with your
core values and personal mission
 Conceivable - It can put into measurable
terms

NURTURE YOURSELF
 Adopt
an attitude of gratitude,
forgiveness, and optimism
 Practice good health and fitness
 Reach for what you want
 Look for the possibilities
 Don't forget to see what is right in
front of you
 Stretch your imagination
 Open your mind
INDULGE YOUR CREATIVITY
 Create
an openness to new things;
expect the best; express your
creativity; think of possibilities, not
absolutes; take healthy risks, have
courage, dare to be different…
 What is right in front of you that can
begin movement toward your vision?
 What will stand in your way?
 What barriers can you begin to
address today?
NEXT STEPS
 Write
a goal statement (or two!)
 Communicate this to an important
person in your life
 Identify an action that allows you to
have control over it - the power is not
abdicated to others or external forces
 Focus a talent or other resources on
your goal or other key priorities
 Measure your progress and establish a
mechanism for informed change
 Reward yourself
QUESTIONS?
Cheryl Clark Bonner
Director,
Penn State Alumni Career Services
102 Bank of America
Career Services Center
University Park, PA 16802
ccb11@psu.edu
814.865.9989
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