Do you take time to keep yourself sharp? I often hear about strategies to “improve your business, improve your process, improve this, and improve that.” Enough about the process…what about you? What can you do to improve you? Think about how much the business world has changed over the last few years. When I started in business, computers were just emerging, there were no laptops, and cell phones were bigger than your head. Yes, it’s ridiculous to think about, I know. And even if you’re just recently entering the business world, technology marches on. As everything changes around us, if we don’t grown and also change, we’ll be left behind. So, what can you do to keep yourself continually educating? Here are just a few things that I’ve run across throughout my career, and found to be incredibly helpful.
Go back to school. If you can make the time commitment, consider going back to school. I had the benefit of completing my MBA right after my undergrad. While I was excited about this accomplishment, the down side was that I had no real world experience to apply my learning toward. I learned many things, but not to the extent I would have, had I pursued a similar path now. If you are interested in learning more about a particular topic or industry, and you have the time and financial ability, nothing says “continuous education” like going back to school.
Take a technical class. If you find yourself with limited time or resources, this is a great way to keep your mind and skills fresh: take a technical class. (I kind of learned Excel in an 8-hour session. Don’t tell.) There are many local colleges or community centers that offer a variety of classes that can keep you up to speed in our ever-changing business environment, especially in the digital space!
Start networking more. Go to a networking event and get out of your comfort zone. If you’re more introverted, this can difficult task, but there are plenty of great articles out there on how to make this an easier process. I promise, it’s not so bad. Make a commitment to yourself that when you go to a networking event, you are going to learn something. And make note of one very important thing…it’s patio season, people, and we live in Minnesota. Take advantage of it!
Get involved in a peer group. One of the things I’ve done over the last couple of years is get involved in peer group meetings. If you think you have things all figured out…it’s likely you don’t. Somebody always does it better. In a peer group, you can learn best practices from some who has “been there, done that.” If you think you have unique problems that no other business or business person has encountered, a peer group can be helpful by not only giving suggestions, but sometimes it’s also just nice to know that you’re not alone when encountering a problem in your career.
These are just a few suggestions that have been helpful in my career. While there are many other things you can do, the main piece of advice is this: Consistently engage yourself in activities that will keep you sharp, and growing professionally.
Written by,
Chris Ohlendorf
Chris Ohlendorf is the Chief Talent Officer at Versique Executive Search and Consulting, and McKinley Consulting. He can be reached at cohlendorf@versique.com.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last month, you know that a new pope was selected. As a business school at a Catholic University, we wondered how Pope Francis’ challenges as head of the Catholic Church relate to the challenges of any new CEO. “One of the things the new pope will have to deal with is a classic business mess — a multi-billion dollar conglomerate that has stumbled and is losing money and relevance,” noted Planet Money. We asked some of our faculty to weigh in and got some surprising answers, and discovered that UST has a direct influence on what the Church says about the “Vocation of the Business Leader.”
Kennedy noted that UST professor ![120086_100318SCL069-620x340[1]](http://blogs.stthomas.edu/opusmagnum/files/2013/03/120086_100318SCL069-620x3401.jpg)
The Weigh-In: Why Does Cyprus Matter?
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013The European Union is once again facing a significant financial crisis as Cyprus has pushed Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain from the headlines. How can such a small country – with fewer than one million citizens – have such a large impact on the global economy? The answer is complicated, much like the March 25 bailout agreement between the troika – the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank (ECB).
The agreement with the Cypriot government paves way for Cyprus to receive a €10 billion bailout. In return, Cyprus has agreed to downsize its large financial sector and undertake a macroeconomic adjustment program that will require fiscal consolidation, structural reforms and privatizations (among other concessions). In return, the ECB will continue to provide emergency liquidity assistance to Cyprus banks.
Read the rest of this post in the UST Newsroom…
Lalith Samarakoon is professor and chair of the Department of Finance in the Opus College of Business. As a financial economist, Samarakoon has two decades of advisory experience in financial sector reforms and development, and public debt management. He teaches Global Finance Issues and Policy: Eurozone Debt Crisis.
Tags: cyprus, debt, finance, Lalith Samarakoon
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