How simple are you? The mnemonic ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’, always makes me smile, I’m not sure why. This week 2 things have got me pondering simplicity. 1) I have been reading about simplicity and how business has got far too bureaucratic and is tying itself in knots by overcomplicated things. 2) My parents bought a kettle because they found their automatic boiling water device was too complicated to meet their requirements. As someone who wakes up early at 5 a.m. and was unable to make a coffee until the device switched itself on at 7a.m., it was also unable to meet my ‘I need an injection of caffeine first thing’ requirement, I am very very glad!
I am simple and I like simplicity, in fact it is one of my values. One of the reasons I choose not to have any employees is so I can have short Board meetings with myself, enjoy fast decision-making and have a duvet day or five if I want one.
Career change can feel the opposite of simple. In fact it can feel so huge, complicated and overwhelming that many people never even start. But you know what? A big change does not have to be complicated. It can be just as simple as a small change. It is a question of breaking it down into smaller bits and tackling them one at a time. If you were to create a change in your career, what would be your first small step?
Being simple, one of the concepts I read this week that I really liked was the principle of having all key information for a business; vision, goals and actions on one piece of paper. Love it. One of the tools I use in career change is all the insights for the ingredients of your career change on one piece of A4 paper including fears, values, skills, and ‘no no’s’ i.e. things you never ever want to have again at work e.g. bullying bosses or someone else giving you a last minute task as a result of their PPP. You work out that mnemonic for that one, but it has nothing to do with an insurance company.
Here is another simple concept, the later you start your career change, the longer you wait to enjoy the benefits and the more delayed your escape is. With companies taking longer to find the right candidate and being less compromising, looking for an ‘exact fit’, that wait could feel like a prison sentence with no parole.
If you are pondering a career change, but you find yourself procrastinating and simply not starting, why not take the first step small and do one of these 3 things:
1) Download a free report to better understand your skills and where else they are useful. Click on this link:
http://careerstrategies.co.uk/changingcareersreport/
or
2) Read our bulletins with free tips to help you in your career – click on this link.
http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106
or
3) Read about the career changes of people who, like you, felt the fear and did it anyway. Click on this link:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786138562.html
My clients inspire me so much, it really is just the best job ever!