10 steps to apply startup culture to your professional development

From the series "Three paradigms for innovation in personal development."

We're ambitious: we have big goals, big dreams, and the motivation to boot. As adventurous human beings, we're always looking for a challenge to inspire and give us purpose in life. But after making the commitment to empowered personal growth and professional development, it can feel like we're floating in space or drowning in water. This post will deliver my strategically-guided and practically-minded steps to incorporate into your professional development agenda so you start to thrive and grow professionally, and still enjoy it!

First, let's put things into context. What do we wish to achieve in our professional development? In today's rapidly evolving workplace, we may feel eager to develop new technical skills by taking online courses or a certification program to feel confident and qualified for new roles or an upgrade in responsibilities. Maybe we'd like to expose ourselves to soft-skill-building opportunities to feel confident and qualified as a speaker, presenter, or negotiator to earn a leadership position in the workplace. Perhaps all of this is part of a greater scheme to comfortably pivot careers and embrace new challenges and opportunities that align more with the life we are interested in. Whatever they may be, our goals have the freedom to take any form; ultimately we may wish to run a company, own a company, start a company, consult for companies.... there are no limitations in this phase of the process. Because regardless of where we are today, remember: we are our own leaders and as such we are champions of our success. So we start with a) defining our vision, b) selecting and prioritizing appropriate goals, and c) implementing an executable plan of action.

Let's say you've done this - you have a vision, you understand your goals, and you have an idea of how to get there - but how do you stay on track? Additionally, how can we live and breathe the commitment we've made to our own professional development with the same energy and enthusiasm that we had when we decided on it?

10 steps to applying startup culture to your professional development

1. Guess what, you may still need some planning.

This is the truth, with any ambition, big or small. Frame the problem, frame the goal, and frame the plan that will bring you success.

For example, let's say you're interested in taking a LinkedIn Learning course on using MS Excel to create heat maps. Answer the following questions:

- What is the problem I am trying to solve? I'm not able to deliver the insights I want in the way that would be most impactful or valuable for my team or project. I would like data visualization skills. Heat maps are a great tool.

- What is my goal? Heat maps would be a great way to demonstrate my information and so I am going to take this course online. When it is complete, I will use this knowledge to present my findings next month.

- How does accomplishing this goal fit into my professional development? Heat maps is one skill that will help me develop data visualization expertise that is practical, reliable, and effective. By working toward this new skill it shows leadership, initiative, problem-solving, and work ethic. Achieving this skill will allow me to innovate how I work. I can become a leader in the team in data visualization and negotiate a promotion based on my ability to drive new insights and add value.

- Is this a one-shot goal or a part of curriculum? I will have accomplished the goal of applying heat maps to my workflow after I complete this course online. But my larger goal is to develop data visualization skills and expertise. I will continue my efforts all year/quarter/every two months by creating a list of data visualization techniques I desire and achieve them successively. I will find the best-fit methods of accomplishing each one and I will aim to apply them in my work. Maybe I will train others in these skills as a way of reinforcing my understanding and contributing to my team.

2. Create a personal mission statement

In "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" Stephen R. Covey describes the purpose of clarifying a mission statement. Here is an online resource that walks you through creating your own that you can then e-mail and print for reference.

A mission statement will keep you grounded so you don't float off into orbit or get lost at sea. It is action-oriented and purposeful. It answers the questions: Who am I? Why am I here? And what am I going to do? Keep this top of mind daily, or weekly, and don't be afraid to change it often. This exercise may actually help you define your true mission statement over time and is subject to evolve as you develop yourself. Don't lose sight of your mission statement when working toward your goals. It's important to have an anchored sense-of-self when embarking on a journey of professional development.

30 inspiring mission statements of companies that went on to earn a billion dollars

3. Create a vision, and define your goals accordingly

Dream big, this is the only way. P.s. YOU are allowed to dream big. Yes, you.

I'll never forget this paradigm-pivoting moment for me: it was my first day of grade 9 and my sciences professor stood up in front of the class and asked everyone to think of the grade they were aspiring for. When he called us out individually, the grades ranged from about 60%-80%. What he said next would change my life forever: "Why aren't all of you aiming for 100%? How can you achieve any of your goals if you don't think you can do better?"

So practice this: create a vision and work backwards; identify your aspirations and let it rain goals! Remember, we are still framing all of these in the context of our professional development. Here are steps as a guide:

a. What is my vision? Write it out. Often we do this exercise in our head, which is exactly where it stays. Write it out. Make it real.

b. When would I like to realize my vision? Is this something you can achieve in the short, medium, or long term? Adding a time line is a good way of creating some pressure on ourselves and accountability.

c. How will I work toward my vision? Independently? Going back to school? Take online training? Join a mentorship program? Job hunting? Developing a portfolio? Start freelance projects? Volunteer for exposure? This is up to you. There are many options.

d. What does success look like? Allow yourself to define "success" for your aspirations. Don't be afraid to be bold or brave. It's important to visualize what achieving your aspirations can look like. Believe in them 100%.

e. What are the goals I need to achieve for success? List all the things you feel are necessary for achieving your aspirations. What are the steps you need to take? Consult references. Interview people for ideas. Be pro-active in understanding exactly what will improve your odds of success by implementing your best efforts toward strategically defined goals. Then create a list of all these goals and their action-items. Maybe group the goals by common themes to help in the next step.

f. Prioritize your goals! You can't achieve it all immediately and attempting to do so will feel like you're drowning; and when you finally get back to shore, you may never swim out again. Pick a few goals that are achievable given time and resources. This is essentially your blueprint. Give it some consideration.

g. Create personal accountability. After identifying your key goals/targets, put them in a calendar and give yourself status checks. If you are not meeting your targets, are you really committed to your vision?

4. Recognize the power of inter-temporal choice

Inter-temporal choice is an economic term that describes how a person's current decisions affect what options become available in the future. It is the process by which people make decisions about what and how much to do at various points in time; choices at one time necessarily influence the possibilities available in later periods.

Recognize that the goals you achieve today, will open opportunities for you tomorrow. By the same token, recognize that you must be selective in what goals you pursue today. Let them be the best determinants of the opportunities you want tomorrow.

Given the significance of inter-temporal choice on our success, commit to a timeline for achieving your goals. Don't let your goals fall flat. You can't afford to lose any time in hitting your targets.

The beauty of this approach is in the awareness that no one should expect to create a vision today, and achieve it successfully tomorrow. This is a journey and you've just created the map. Let's move forward!

5. Be adaptive

Being adaptive is like keeping your knees loose when skiing down a terrain of moguls. If you stay rigid, you are likely to break. Being adaptive and responsive to new information, criticism, failure, whatever the signal may be... is going to keep your professional development a going concern. If you're learning the wrong skill or going in the wrong direction, don't be afraid to course-correct and keep going.

The beauty is you're trailblazing your success. Only you know how to do it - so give yourself the flexibility to figure it out!

6. Stay positive, energized, committed, and empowered

- The 24 hour inspiration lifecycle

Don't let setbacks or fatigue derail your goals and aspirations. Embrace what I call the "24 hour inspiration lifecycle." Every morning, wake up with a total reset. Review your mission statement, review your goals and aspirations, position yourself on your timeline, acknowledge your successes, and review lessons from failure. Then embrace positivity, problem-solving, and work ethic as the pillars of your day, and get to it!

This practice my vary by individual and this tenet of professional development and startup culture is closely related to our physical and mental health - no wonder Google and Facebook treat their employees so well! Treat your physical and mental health as the engines that drive you forward. Take special care of these engines! Here is a snippet of a practice I've cultivated to help me achieve my goals by staying positive, energized, committed, and empowered:

Evening: I fill my mind with TedTalks as a reminder of what we can accomplish and overcome as human beings. It's truly incredible and inspirational.

Morning: Journaling and review. I give myself extra time to jot down any ideas, anxieties, and thoughts so I'm not distracted by them during the hard work of my day.

Nutritional health: I eat whatever I want when I want it and I never allow my eating habits to be a source of anxiety. Instead, I make sure to add this to my day: lots of water, a salad, sprouts, seeds, nuts, vitamins, a home-cooked meal. If I forget one day of the week, it's not a big deal, I have the other six to count on.

Physical health: I do sun salutations every, single, day. It's about 15 minutes of light exercise. I also achieve a goal of exercising moderately three times a week either through yoga, the gym, running, cycling, or outdoor adventures. I'm extrinsically motivated so sometimes I turn workouts into little games that I can "cash" in for rewards.

Mental health: I have an incredible support network and when times are tough I refer to a counsellor like a professional athlete refers to sports psychology. There is no shame in it. In fact, let your ability to heal yourself and get stronger be your competitive advantage. In addition, I keep five important people in my life who I connect with regularly: 1) a peer, 2) a mentor, 3) a coach, 4) a friend, 5) a cheerleader.

7. Build resilience

I am so passionate about this topic I may devote an entire series to it with resources, so stay tuned. But fundamentally, this is a paradigm shift as well.

Failure is incredible. It is beautiful. It is heart breaking. It is painful. It can feel torturous. It can seem like the worst thing in the world. But it will serve you if you allow it the opportunity. Learn from failure.

Every story I share - my favourite stories - are always stories of triumph. None of my most fulfilling accomplishments would exist without the backdrop of the failure or fears that preceded them. By affording myself the space and time to rebound from failure in unimaginable ways, I have actually turned every failure in my life into an energy-creating source of strength and inspiration that fuels me.

When we experience failure, gut-wrenching or otherwise, how we act and how we treat others is our defining characteristic. It is a choice. Keep failure in perspective and recognize its value in your life. Find purpose in your triumph, in your come-back, in your education and lived experiences, because more often than not, you will look back to your failures with so much compassion and respect for its purpose in your life, you will be grateful for handling it with grace, dignity and integrity....

8. Know your values

You are your values, and your values are your brand. Know your values and always stay on brand. Protect your brand, your reputation, and your commitment to your values above all else. Write these out. Values should inspire and empower you. They give us meaning and purpose and this is exactly what we need to realize our vision. When times get tough - and they always do sooner or later - your values are a beacon of light. If you are unable to connect with values, takes some time to consider why. It may require some personal reflection and soul-searching to know who you are and what you stand for.

I was deeply influenced by my time working for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Canada's federal policing department -whom expressly commit to their values at the organizational and individual level. We are each individually responsible for our own actions and upholding our values. This translates to all facets of our life, including our professional development and business. It is a huge mistake to compromise your values for ambition. It is also not wise from an inter-temporal choice perspective either.

Core Values of the RCMP

Integrity

Honesty

Professionalism

Compassion

Respect

Accountability

9. Get comfortable being uncomfortable

You didn't start a journey of professional development to stay idle. When things get challenging, remember, this too shall pass. Aspirations may feel impossible until they're accomplished. If you commit to daily efforts, your investments will achieve compounding returns in time.

10. Take risks, raise the bar, and repeat

- Believe you can succeed, be the high jumper

One of the most awe-inspiring track and field competitions in my opinion (disclaimer: I'm actually a huge fan of all of them) is the high-jump.

"... competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern most practised format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat for landing."

This is what risk-taking can feel like. But if you break this event down, you'll notice just how fully prepared you are to take the risk, raise the bar, and make the jump.

Be the high-jumper: Like all athletes dedicated to their craft, the athlete trains with such passion and persistence. Starting from the ground, up. They will make repeated attempts with no guarantee of success. But they learn from each effort, apply new techniques, or reinforce strong skills, and jump over the horizontal bar. It may feel impossible! They may fail, over and over. They may crash, over and over. They know they will get hurt, bruised, feel sad, feel depleted physically and emotionally, over and over. But they also know that this is part of the process.

This is the most incredible part: The high jumper will make repeated attempts to jump over a bar of a selected height hundreds of times. They never give up because they believe they can do it. It takes one effort to change everything: running as fast as they can, the athlete makes the jump and clears a height they've never achieved before. And you know what they do immediately after? THEY RAISE THE BAR! They go through this process all over! Completely unaided, with only their strength, courage, and preparation, they will make the jump again with the belief that sooner or later, their risks and effort will pay off. And you know what they get on the other side of it? A crash mat for landing!

Take the risk, raise the bar, and repeat. This is accomplishment.

Canada's Derek Drouin wins the Rio 2016 Olympic Gold Medal in Men's High Jump clearing 2.38 meters.

I hope this post inspires you to thrive with these start-up principles and practices in mind when embarking toward professional development. The key is to stay motivated, energized, passionate, and committed to your belief and goals that will bring your success. Embrace the struggle, the uncertainty, the discomfort, and even the failure. Find your vision, your passion, your values, your mission, your strength, and reinforce it daily. Take the steps, make the jumps, and repeat, repeat, repeat. In time, you will accomplish new heights!