January edition of "The Agenda"

CHANGING GEARS

STEPS TO MAKING YOUR CAREER WORK FOR YOU AS AN ASSET

If it feels alien to you to build a checklist about yourself, be aware that your own experiences are a large hidden asset you control. Writing down answers will be valuable. When the answer is “Yes”, please write full lists.

1. RECOGNIZING THE ASSET

*Write an outline of ALL subject areas you have learned

-Go beyond your ‘Job Description’ (if you still refer to one!)

-Note the subjects/skills you use most often

2. SHIFTING THE PATTERN

*Do you keep personal notes, progress reports or other records?

*Do you use the calendar as a tool?

*Did you work with a team or in a team?

-What are (were) the rules?

-Apply them to yourself

3. ASSESSMENTS (Tool)

*What worked best for you?

*What would you like to be certain never to do again?

4. FIND ADVICE / FEEDBACK

*Write a short list of who to ask, starting with colleagues and supervisors

*Considering that they will be doing you a favor, finding casual time (lunch that you buy) might be best.

*Collect in writing what they helped you remember.

5. Learning to listen

*To your story told by others

-Yes, this is a HUGE asset, as you capture OTHER people’s viewpoint, as well as your own.

6. WRITE IT ALL DOWN

*Outline first, leading to a List of Lists and a plan of action.

7. SCHEDULE YOUR STEPS

In the next AGENDA we will be exploring the WEB as your hunting ground, how to both gather info and place yourself on it.

The Regis Group, Inc.
102 North King Street | Leesburg, VA 20176 |

703 777-2233 | www.regisgroup.com

January 2012

GLOBAL SHIFTS

While ALL of the Subjects noted in The Agenda over the years are ongoing planning considerations for most organizations, in recent months the implications and relative importance of key elements of the list below have shifted to the point that they are worthy of an immediate review by leaders as to their near term impact. These include:

ROLE OF THE BOOMERS

*The steady shifting of demographics imply a need to potentially devalue the aggregated value of the group (now a troubling workplace and Social Security reality)

ACCELERATED USE OF THE WEB

*Assume new uses, applications and access to information in both directions on a daily basis

INFORMATION ACCESSS

*Storage – Expanded Array

*Security - Close to uncontrollable, calling for immediate and sequential policy and methods review

COMMUNICATION DEVICES

*Accelerated appearance of new hardware and application software

MEDICAL CAPABILITIES/AVILABILITY

*Shifting faster than any one central source can monitor

EDUCATIONAL METHODS AND INSTITUTIONS

*Explosive demand coupled with reduced financial resources

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (including Associations and Unions)

*Rapidly growing competition for membership coupled with the hunt for significantly diversified revenue sources

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

*Driven by the Global Recession into unprecedented restructure

Other areas: The shifts driven by the above indicate the prospect of revised importance for several additional areas that still appear at the same relative level of consequence for planning as in the past. A prime area would be the need for understanding the implications of Global shifts on patterns of Insurance.

Focus on the Future

Guest Predictions:

James Snyder

Guest Predictions is a regular feature in which we ask leaders in a number of professions a set of questions that affect us all.

James Snyder, CPA CSPM
Jim began his CPA career at Yount Hyde & Barbour in 1989. He is experienced in providing business consulting, income and estate planning services and estate and trust administration services to successful businesses and individuals in many professions, especially engineering, law, technology and real estate. At YHB, Jim is the principal in charge of IT systems, serves on the firm’s Retirement Plan Committee and is heavily involved in training staff. Jim has a B.S. degree in accounting from James Madison University and is certified in Strategic Performance Management.

Q: What changes in your professional environment in the past 3-5 years have you found to be the most beneficial?

A: Adapting to technology changes has been a critical positive shift. We are using high speed internet access as a tool, allowing us to work from anywhere at any time. We may not be fully global by plan yet, but we are multisite and linkage has become increasingly important to us.

Q: What changes have been the most troubling to you?

A: Regulatory changes in audit and changes in tax laws are happening so frequently and rapidly, that we are expending increasing amounts of time responding. We would rather have some of that time available for our key focus, which is helping our clients plan as they grow their business.

Q: How will globalization affect your professional area in the near term?

A: We are constantly looking for “best of the best” practices, everywhere in the world and in turn have a willingness to share ours globally through the web.

Q: What significant challenges might be anticipated in your professional area in the next few years?

A: The increased regulatory environment for tax professionals in particular is one. Increasing difficulty in finding and attracting unusually talented professionals and creative analytical thinkers is a growing issue.

Q: What are the greatest challenges confronting young professionals in Western culture today?

A: We are at a moment when there is so much more value being placed on analytical thinking when the basic need is moving toward “disciplined creative” thinking. I worry that not enough effort is being given to train young professionals in this way.

James Snyder

Marc Chinoy

President's Letter

YOUR CAREER AS AN ASSET

Over the past year we have been placing a steady stream of business tools on our website. They appear in a single directory in the order in which they were developed.

Over the next several weeks we will be reorganizing them by category, and creating a descriptive index.

We will also be focusing on those of our readers who are either contemplating retirement, or who find themselves involved with colleagues in that circumstance. This week’s far left article addresses how to focus on the totality of your career as a very real asset, with the first step being our recommendation to put down in words the specialized knowledge you have gained over the years.

In future months we will be addressing Networking and Self Marketing.

Along these lines we are asking you to help by identifying those subjects you might be interested in hearing AND if there are subjects you might like to share through The Agenda yourself.

This should make for one of the more unusual rounds in the three year life of The Agenda.

Thanks for reading, from the Team at TRG, please have a peaceful holiday season and a joyous New Year

Marc Paul Chinoy

BizSpeak!

Winner of the Month:

Deborah Cornwell, Facility Manager, Howard Vocational Center, Winchester VA

“The Big Bad Wolf At The Door”

Definition:

When trouble abounds and the next set of actions will determine the depth of the difficulties and the prospect for resolution

Related Terms:

Brink of Disaster, Watch Your Back, Warning Lamps are Lit, Dangerous Shoals and Reefs Ahead

How it Sounds:

“Gerald just got finished telling us that ever since the recession we have been ONE STEP FROM A TRAIN WRECK with the “The Big Bad Wolf At The Door!” … and then the financials came in…”

Don't forget to send us your favorite BizSpeak to: infotrg@regisgroup.com

Click here to check out the BizSpeak book!

The Regis Group, Inc.
102 North King Street | Leesburg, VA 20176 | 703 777-2233 | www.regisgroup.com

This email was sent to .
To ensure that you continue receiving our emails, please add us to your address book or safe list.

manage your preferences | opt out using TrueRemove®

Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.