Top 10 ways to enhance your career in 2010

Are you optimistic about your professional future in 2010? According to a poll commissioned by Global News by Ipsos Reid Public Affairs, 73 per cent of respondents said they are "optimistic that 2010 will be a good year for creating jobs and getting people back to work."  What will this year, and more importantly, this next decade hold for you professionally and personally?  I actually wrote a completely different column for this edition. However, as I was sitting in my office, I was reviewing the amazing clients and professionals that I have had the privilege to coach and interview over this past decade.  I wondered why them?  What did they do differently?  Was there any consistent pattern to their professional success?  Why did their careers take off and not the peers that graduated from the same schools?  So, instead, I decided to sum up the top 10 principles that have helped professionals take their career to the next level.

The Top 10 Career Success Traits from 2000- 2009:

• Optimistic, yet not naive;
• Flexible and adaptable yet not a pushover. Good professional boundaries;
• Continually learning - both linearly and non-traditionally;
• Confident yet not cocky - Not afraid of self-promotion and will promote others.
• Value, nurture and valued by their professional network;
• Smart risk-takers -  Pay attention and are not afraid of the economy;
• Wide set of interests in life;
• Global and local perspective;
• Genuine interest in the chosen professional field; 
• Respect and are respected by their employer; and,
• Bonus - Work seriously

In addition to these principles, I’ve added the major world changes that have occurred in this past decade. Each one of these has impacted us all in some manner, and has created unprecedented risks and opportunities for individuals and organizations.

• Sep 11, 2001 and rise of the term, "global terrorism."
• Dot-com bubble & global financial crisis.
• Globalization - the rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
• Architecture used for the Beijing Olympics.
• First African-American president elected in the United States
• "Climate Change" becomes a household word.
• Old media out and the rise of bloggers, social & new media.
• Crocs- (thank goodness that is so over....)
• Wireless networks, anywhere, anytime.
• ipod, Podcasts, Youtube, Facebook, Blackberry &Twitter.

The great news is that there is always space in the world for new ideas, products and services. Your future lies in how you will respond…

What would be your career advice for 2010? Share your thoughts on my blog.

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100% pragmatically optimistic, along the road with you!