You Can Do Better

By Jean Dorak

Carl Gould, President at 7 Stage Advisors- Business Consulting

What stands between you and your absolute dream job? According to entrepreneur Carl Gould, there are seven stages to career success and you need to look the part. Gould addressed the Next Generation Leadership SIG in April to discuss how young professionals can distinguish themselves and advance their careers. Gould advised attendees to take ownership of their job responsibilities, frame their duties as personal services to multiply the association’s revenue, and contribute to the organization’s mission or vision.

The seven stages to career success are:

  1. Strategic Planning: Put your ideas on paper. Because your professional and personal vision must align, attract people with a similar vision and values.
  2. Specialty: Become an expert in a particular field or skill set.
  3. Synergy: At this stage, you need to effectively work with and empower others.
  4. Systems: You are now at the management level. You mentor and coach others.
  5. Sustainability: Become known for something other than a product or service you provide.
  6. Salability: You bring in revenue for your organization without being promoted.
  7. Succession: The CEO could envision you as his or her replacement.

Some questions ambitious professionals should ask themselves: What would you do differently if you were the CEO tomorrow, as opposed to the job you currently hold? On a scale of 1–10, 1 being dragged out of bed for work and 10 being a high-performing CEO, where would you put yourself? Gould asserts that anything below an eight will not be noticed by upper management.

This was not a lecture, nor was this a scathing annual review. Carl Gould was simply providing a very necessary reality check to a room of young professionals eager to be the next generation of leaders. According an attendee, one of the major takebacks of this session was that “you can do better; therefore, you should do better.”

Let’s all strive to do better. Tweet @JeanDorak and @NYSAENET with how you’re going to propel yourself to a 10.

Jean Dorak is Foundation Project Coordinator of the ICSC Foundation, providing oversight of the community outreach program, and Co-Chair of NYSAE's Next Generation Leadership SIG. She is the 2016 NYSAE New Star Awardee. You can reach her at jdorak@icsc.org, 646-728-3682, or follow her on Twitter at @JeanDorak.