| Career Development: Break the Rules Within the | | | | ideas from others in the department. Run the |
| Rules and advance your career. | | | | problem by people you know in the industry. What |
| Your future career success lies in your ability to | | | | did another company do to solve the problem? Is it |
| break some rules. Do you know your competition | | | | applicable to your situation? Take the best ideas |
| within the organization? How about your company's | | | | (giving credit where credit is due) and work them |
| competition? Do you follow them or do you look for | | | | into the solution. |
| ways to move outside the box? | | | | 4. Become known as the idea person and problem |
| Within the organization, are you expected to follow | | | | solver. Search out others to be sounding boards for |
| the group or if you move outside the group thinking | | | | your ideas and possible solutions. Think other ideas |
| will you be ostracized? Do you hide in the group or | | | | through. At meetings if an idea is presented and you |
| are you willing to achieve success on your own? | | | | don't agree, present a different solution or a well |
| All are important questions to answer. Are you willing | | | | reasoned argument why the proposed direction |
| to take the risks to your career to put your ideas | | | | won't work. |
| into action? If you are willing to take initiative, | | | | 5. Strive to have a plan of implementation for every |
| responsibility and break some rules you career will | | | | great idea you come up with. Think benefits both for |
| flourish and in the right environment you'll move up to | | | | the department and the company. Quantify possible |
| areas of more responsibility and more rewards. Don't | | | | results. |
| play it safe and take the easy route and hide behind | | | | 6. Always look for ways of improving what is being |
| the rules. | | | | done and moving the company forward. Consider |
| Here are some actions you can take to advance | | | | taking a different approach in dealing with a |
| your career by breaking the rules within the rules: | | | | customer. How can meeting presentations be |
| 1. Think like an entrepreneur. If you owned the | | | | improved and streamlined? |
| company what would you do differently? Step out | | | | Keep this overall approach on the forefront of your |
| of your job and career and act like the CEO, fairly | | | | thinking every day. Being average with the group is |
| analyze your contributions, your departments results; | | | | never good enough. Raise the bar. |
| what more could you be doing? | | | | As you challenge the rules that don't contribute to |
| 2. What rules are getting in your way? What rules | | | | the bottom line, or don't help your career growth or |
| are getting in your department's way? Study how | | | | the company's mission statement you'll find your |
| the rule came about. Is it still meeting the | | | | career growing. |
| organization's needs? Maybe part of it is still valid, | | | | Importantly your career will have more satisfaction, |
| how can the rest of the rule be modified or | | | | your responsibilities and rewards will increase all |
| eliminated to help the business or customers. | | | | because you learned to break the rules with the |
| 3. Define the problem. Write it out. Ask for help and | | | | rules. |