Assess Yourself...

“Know thyself” may date back to Socrates, but the goal of understanding where you’re at today and where you could use some improvement is still as true as ever. In business, we often answer “self-assessment” questionnaires to paint the picture of our strengths and weaknesses. And what picture it paints then determines where we need expert help to fix any troubles found.

But a personal career self-assessment can go a long way in helping you make the personal choices you need as well. In recent weeks I’ve written about today’s leaders trying to decide what is next for their own careers. We’re seeing a generational shift of those who helped build our current world to leading and then leaving a legacy for the next generation. If that’s you, have you performed a self-assessment to help decide where to head next?

Here's a good starting point for kicking it off:

• What were you doing 5 years ago? What did you like about it? What were you looking to change?
• Same questions, but 10 years ago.
• Of the things you enjoyed 5 and 10 years ago, what are you still doing today?
• Of the things you wanted to change, which ones have you?
• Did those changes produce the desired outcomes?
• Now, thinking over your whole career, what are a few of your major accomplishments? Failures? And what lessons did you learn from each?
• Looking forward now, where do you need, want, and expect to be in 5 years? “Need,” “Want,” and “Expect” could have different answers.
• What about ten years from now? For most of Generation X, the next 5-10 years will cause a lot of shifts in your family. Have you accounted for it in looking out that far?
• What are you doing today which will help meet those goals?
• What are you doing today which is holding you back from them?
• Are you working on making the changes you need to make to get there?
• Where could you use some help to accelerate your efforts?
• Where could you use your strengths to help someone else accelerate theirs?

There are plenty more questions to a good self-assessment. They can dive into details around finances, health, relationships, and more. The point in all of them is to help you ask yourself some key questions. Tbey are designed to help you understand where you’re at and where you’d like to be. Then, you understand your strengths which will help you get there and your weaknesses where others can help you too. Ultimately, the goal is to “know yourself.”

What are some self-assessments you recommend people consider when making their own plans?

Upcoming Events

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Atlanta ToolBank Golf Tournament

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Week In Review

Here's what was on the mind this past week:

• Sharing the Atlanta ToolBank Golf Tournament
• Busy week? Want help working "on the business"?
• My Merchandise Store
• Legal Implications of Cybersecurity (Event coming soon)
• The Zombie Apocalypse is Hiring! (It's a scam!)
• SaaS is the new mainframe (A poll)

Be sure to check them all out and join in on the conversation!

In Conclusion

I'm grateful to all of you who spend the time sharing your thoughts, engaging with posts, and being part of the amazing conversations happening here.

As I'm growing my business, I'm looking at how to engage with private equity firms, law firms, and start-ups facing their next challenge - so if you're connected to any of these worlds, let's chat soon!

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I hope this coming week is exactly what you need it to be!

Thanks, as always!

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About Erik

Erik Boemanns is a technology executive and lawyer. His background covers many aspects of technology, from infrastructure to software development. He combines this with a "second career" as a lawyer into a world of cybersecurity, governance, risk, compliance, and privacy (GRC-P). His time in a variety of companies, industries, and careers brings a unique perspective on leadership, helping, technology problem solving and implementing compliance.

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