We all talk ceaselessly about our potential. Just look at your "If only" list. If only my parents had money, I would be a famous swimmer by now. If only I've had more encouragement, I'll be earning my living as an artist. If only I have an MBA, I would have been promoted last month. Thousands of lost chances, thousands of wasted potential. We all know our limits and the reasons for our failures. Yet each of us believes in a purpose for life - to be rich, to be charitable, be loved - hence we continue to cling to our "if only...".
In the same way, organizations also have their own reason for being. A charity organization is there to serve a group within society that needs assistance. The aim is to help as much and as many as possible. An institution of learning's main objective should be to teach. It earns money to support itself, but the main aim is to provide the best education possible. A research company work on new patents and maintains itself either by getting grants or by selling its discoveries to business companies. A business establishment supplies product and services. Its aim is to support itself and to earn a profit for the investors.
When an organization fails, many will attribute this to wrong timing or wrong location. In other words the original Business Plan was off its mark. Others attribute it to an inexperienced workforce or inadequate training. Individuals, however, attribute their lack of success to opportunities that were not made fairly available to them.
If two entrepreneurs were to call up the Trade Ministry, they will both get exactly the same information. If they were to buy the Industry Almanac, they will see exactly the same data. Basic Economic and Management theories are the same anywhere you study in the free world. Don't tell me about which schools are better, in all my upper level studies I've only come across one animated lecturer. Actually she was screeching at the class because forty-three out of forty-five students failed her paper. Everyone else drones; it's fashionable to drone when you are either a professor [or an air hostess]. Maybe that is why universities have some of the best libraries, because students are forced to make full use of reference books. When you think about it, everyone is given the same opportunity to reach the same potential. Socio-economic factors can cause discrepancies, but once a door of opportunity is opened in the form of study loans or opportunity, then things will equalize.
Now if everyone has the same opportunity, then why do some fail while others earn huge profits? Because one daydream while the other plan and act. A planner has a target and milestones that he uses to track his progress. He moves with a purpose. He looks at his potential and makes a list of things he needs and the actions he has to do to materialize that potential. He is focused, single-minded and boring to the rest of society; until he starts to make money.
A daydreamer however thinks about his potential and talks about it. Then before the day of reckoning comes, he will have an excuse for not reaching his goal. His plans are always so much more exciting than the planner's, since they tend to be overblown.
If you want to have a successful career, attach yourself to a planning organization. How can you tell? Compare the company's performance to others in the same industry. Then see if the company is meeting its objectives. If it is not, try to understand why and how management plan to compensate. Become best friends with your gut. With all the literature out there on planning and writing goals, it is easier than ever before to come up with a good plan. Remember, a planner actually use the plan to reach goals and milestones.
When management has nothing but "promises" of better times, but no practical action plan, then this is most probably a daydreaming organization. If you insist on sticking around because of the high salary or an upcoming promotion, make sure that you save money. Daydreamers will dream until they are forced to wake up. This usually happen when it is too late to make any significant improvement. Your manager may blame you, the subordinate, for not living up to your potential. It's not a nice stigma to live with. If someone asks you about your tainted reputation, maybe you can save yourself by saying, "You mean, the whole company failed because of me?" Warning: might not work if you were the CEO.
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