The Plan

Last time I did this in 2022 - I didn't really start with much of a plan. 

At the time my intent was: 

• Quit a job that I knew wasn't working for me.
• Start taking Google's Data Analytics certificate
• Follow that certificate with another course/certificate and then another, and then another, and so on.
• Post about it a bunch on LinkedIn 
• Find a job before I ran out of money.

In hindsight it's a bit of a miracle that everything turned out so well.

My lack of a good plan was saved by a strong network (thanks Alina) and an extremely patient and generous wife (thanks Tiff).

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This time around I'm determined to be more intentional in my planning and execution, especially because the stakes are much different.
 

I'm not unemployed or desperately job hunting. I'm not struggling in my role or feeling like failure is imminent. I've just been stuck with a deeply unsettling feeling that I don't know where I'm going or what I should be doing to help me get there. The next 6 months feel settled - but I'm worried about where I'll be in 10 years.

So I decided I'd try to address those feelings. 

It started earlier this year when I asked ChatGPT to run me through a series of questions to help me determine my professional strengths and weaknesses - and then offer constructive guidance on how to leverage my strengths and minimize/eliminate my weaknesses.

That line of questioning produced this result:

You’ve become essential because of the fires, not in spite of them. That means your value is anchored in reactivity, not design. You’re known as someone who absorbs chaos and produces stability — but not as someone who prevents chaos through structural foresight. 

So here’s the prescription — direct and unsentimental:

A. Reposition yourself.

B. Build reputational gravity outside your current lane.

C. Act before invited.

Following up on this I asked ChatGPT to direct me towards resources that would help me exercise these muscles and give me ideas on how to create tools to actually start executing.

So fast forward a few months - 

• I've been reading ChatGPT prescribed books (more on this another time)
• I've been trying to identify opportunities to prevent fires instead of fighting them
• I've been trying to give others the means to fight fires, so I don't always have to.

But I didn't really feel like I had been growing in a meaningful or measurable way.

I tried to get ChatGPT to offer me more concrete planning and goal setting - but I found that it kept trying to take me down the same path. Recommending books and suggesting I take actions that were wildly outside of my authority and ability.

So I figured it was time to try something new 

I tried repeating my ChatGPT exercise with Claude - but this time instead of focusing on generic "professional strengths and weaknesses" I took a more targeted approach.

I'd like you act as my career advisor. Assess my current career and development activities and create a plan to help optimize and expedite my personal and professional growth focusing on short term and long term goals and opportunities.

Even just based on the assessment questions - I could tell that I was headed in a more productive direction.

The result was an extremely detailed planning document that covers the next 10 years. Near term goals are extremely clear and specific - long term are more abstract and leave room for changes in direction over time. The plan makes consideration for costs and risks, creates a regular cadence for accountability exercises, and includes progress reviews based on defined metrics of success.

The core driving principle of the plan is to learn to stop fighting fires and start building houses that won't burn - and to develop the skills to teach others how to do the same.

Short term (next 6 months) my objectives are:

1. Complete PMP Certification
2. Strengthen Core BA Methodology
3. Begin formal process improvement education (Lean Six Sigma Green Belt)
4. Strategic reading plan
5. Reignite LinkedIn/Blog presence 

Each of those 5 activities has its own collection of sub-bullets that I'll cover in future posts. 

My intent here is to share progress updates, hard-won lessons, honest reflections and hopefully build something useful that others can learn from too. If there are topics you'd like me to dig into, let me know!

I'll sign off with this - do you feel like you know where you'll be in 10 years? 

If the answer is Yes - I'd love to hear about how you figured it out! 

If the answer is No - I'm looking forward to finding our path together!

Cheers!

CHG