In the December issue of Information Outlook, Jill Strand’s column highlights several information professional experiences in regards to how they’re able to drawing attention to themselves, the risk involved, along with helping others understand the value they offer.

Several key points:

• Look for needs within your business that you might be able to help with and position yourself to fill the role
• Whatever the role, identify how that function will tie into either revenue or a core competence of your business
• Whether it is commonly known or not, keep track of your accomplishment so that you can articulate the value of what you’re doing to important stakeholders of the business

Read more:
http://www.sla.org/io/2011/12/1082.cfm
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Creating Your Future the Peter Drucker Way: A Report by Ethel Salonen

Wednesday, 15 June 2011; 10:00 AM – 1:30 AM, EST

Speaker: Bruce Rosenstein, www.brucerosenstein.com

Worked for USA Today for 21 years as a librarian/researcher until December 2008

Beginning in 1996 he wrote about business and management books for the newspaper’s Money section

Presentation revolved around Bruce’s new book: Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life, Published by Berett-Koehler, August 1, 2009. The book applies the principles of Drucker, whom many consider to be the “father of modern management,” to individual self-development, by encouraging the pursuit of a more multidimensional life. It is based on more than 20 years of research into Drucker’s life and thought, including several interviews with him. Click here to learn more about the book.

His website show’s Bruce’s video interview with Peter Drucker on April 11, 2005, 7 months to the day before he died at the age of 95. Some observations from the video:

• Achievement focused and multidimensional life is what you should achieve
• There is still low productivity in knowledge workers but he sees more productivity than ever before.
• We still have an overload of data…still figuring out how to transform this into information.
• Advice to young knowledge workers – go to work..don’t emphasize attending a  school such as a MBA program. A 22 year old MBA is a waste. Work for 10-15 years, be successful, and then maybe go for a MBA.
• Teaching will be radically different in 30-50 years

His presentation focused on these major themes that are presented in his workshops:

• How to apply Drucker’s principles for self-development in your personal and professional life
• How to construct a complete, balanced life plan based on Drucker’s principles
• How to create your future through developing your core competencies, and pursuing parallel/second careers
• How to live a more multidimensional life by interacting with diverse people and varied organizations
• How to incorporate lifelong learning and teaching into even the busiest lives
• How to increase your sense of personal meaning and satisfaction through social entrepreneurship, volunteerism, mentorship and servant leadership

        Drucker quote, from Management: Revised Edition:

• “The purpose of the work on making the future is not to decide what should be done tomorrow, but what should be done today to have a tomorrow.”
• He also advised to identify and take advantage of “the future that has already happened.” What are the current trends that affect your professional and personal life, and what are the implications for the future? What can you start doing right now to remain relevant in your workplace and in the profession?

Comments from Bruce Rosenstein

• Focus on the future, not the past – stop defending the past
• What can you do to remain relevant in the various worlds you live in?
• Consider second careers in teaching, writing, art and music.
• Build continuous lifelong learning, exploring and teaching.
• Reinvent yourself, people change, different person, needs, abilities and perspectives.  Reinvent your life and your career
• Social entrepreneurship – consider choices and changes for the second half of your life – over or under 40
• Create and maintain your total life list. What initiative from this list is first?
• Don’t expect everything to happen at once.

Deb Hunt has started a career sustainability LinkedIn group for info pros to post questions and tips for remaining a thriving profession and finding work and the opportunities out there.

Please join the group and the discussion.
Career Sustainability | LinkedIn

Deb is starting the conversation with this question:

“I’m passionate about what I do and what we can do as a profession. Together we can create a more healthy and sustainable future. What tips can you share about how you keep your career sustainable?”

Check out the LinkedIn group Career Sustainability to see the comments so far and to add to the conversations.

Being a mentor and coaching others can be accomplished through time  spent in person, by the phone, or even through writing.  In the book “The Information and Knowledge Professional’s Career Handbook: Define and Create Your Success.“,  Ulla de Stricker and Jill Hurst-Wahl offer their career knowledge  and personal compendium of advice as described in a blog post on the Infonista this past Sunday, May 15th.

Knowledge sharing is one of the noble functions information professionals are known for in the business world.  Ask yourself this question – Who are you sharing your knowledge with in a mentoring or coaching capacity?

Have you been following the conversations in the blogosphere about career paths (or lack thereof), leadership vs. management skills and how to get some of those, the ambitions of Gen-Xers vs Gen Yers vs previous generations, life changes when you get on the mommy track, etc?  If you haven’t, you really must follow these links to some very interesting dialogues. (I say dialogues because you have to read the comments to get the full gist.)

I believe Meredith Farkas kicked it off by revealing to us her agony on finding out that there is no upward mobility for her at her current place of employ:  Darn that dream.  Then there’s Steven Bell asking us "Are You Where You Want To Be Professionally?" http://acrlblog.org/2007/12/05/are-you-where-you-want-to-be-professionally/. It would seem that he has been satisfied by his career path – and so he should be.  And then there was Brian Mathew’s answer to Steven Bell:  Be like Emeril: my response to Steven Bell, endorsing more celebrity.  Finally, if you want the "catty" viewpoint, check out the Annoyed Librarian’s take on all this and the comments from her readers – who include Meredith and Steven and Brian:  Careers and Stuff.    

No matter where you are in your career or what is around the corner, these conversations are food for thought.  And my thought was:  doesn’t SLA offer a good selection of courses on specific Leadership and Management topics through Click U which surely should support members’ interests in moving forward in their careers?  My next thought was:  where are YOU in your career – and how can LMD help you to get where you want to be?

In the interest of starting this dialogue with you and as I don’t believe most of you know me, I’ll go first:  I graduated from Library School at McGill University 20 years ago now.  (I can’t believe how the time has flown!)  I spent the first 10 years of my career on the "library" side of the street, working in progressively more senior positions in special libraries, ending as the Manager of the Business Information Centre at Deloitte & Touche in Toronto.  I’ve spent the next 10 years on the "other side" (Stephen Abram http://stephenslighthouse.sirsi.com/index.html  once said the "dark side") of the street, mostly working for and / or consulting to vendors.  SLA helped me all along the way:  first with public speaking opportunities, leadership opportunities with my local chapter, then gaining (small-p) political skills in roles at the association level, networking, contacts, more public speaking in much larger venues – and TONNES of fun.  Where will my next 10 years be?  I’m not sure (I’m of the Annoyed Librarian’s "improvise – not plan" approach to career), but I’m hoping this next year as Chair of this division will provide me with some skills in working with all kinds of different people – including some members out there who are FAR more experienced than me!

-Juanita – Chair, Leadership & Management Division