by Dale Stanley

Seth Godin recently blogged on the topic of “Reject the Tyranny of Being Picked” http://bit.ly/fGzcCW. I cannot think of a more pertinent and helpful concept in making ourselves “Future Ready.” We have grown up waiting to be “picked.” Whether it is for teams on the playground, for “Mr. Right,” to be recognized for our great service/profession, for the next promotion, or for some wonderful employer to somehow find our resume on LinkedIn. The best advice I can imagine is to stop waiting to be picked. And DO something.  Any little next action is sufficient as a start. The best career move I ever made is when I took a half- day, figured out why I was bored, and then decided what just one next physical action to do about it. When you become proactive, you begin the journey of making your own future.  This, of course, is the best way to be “future ready.” If you want to learn more about being proactive and having goals, read Stephen Covey http://bit.ly/6N9pR7. If you want to begin to realize the power of “next actions,” read David Allen http://www.davidco.com/. But the main thing is to stop waiting. And, as Seth puts it, “Pick yourself.”

Dale Stanley is the Director of Literature Resources at Gilead Sciences, an occasional consultant with SMR International, and has been co-instructor with Guy St.Clair and Cindy Hill in SLA’s Click University certificate programs in Knowledge Management and Knowledge Services.  He has many years of industry experience leading information groups in the medical device, industrial/office products, and pharmaceutical industries.