The Ultimate List of Professional Development Ideas

I seriously (and sincerely) ask myself all of the time - what can I do about my professional development?. How can I get my company in front of the line when it comes to clients choosing vendors? It sort of feels like a gameshow, but you're competing for the opportunity to do work. Professional development is one way of measuring yourself/company against where you currently are to where you want to be.

"Keeping up with the Jones'" is something we used to say a lot, but in a different context. Our current culture would tend to have us look inward and not comparing each other to each other, but comparing our personal journey to where we are to where we want to go and are we taking the correct steps to head in that direction. However, this dichotomy of personal journey inward, versus companies choosing the best fit for their organization is more of an outward approach.

So, what's the point?

Sometimes (rarely) I like to use sports analogies to make my point - So, if a golfer is trying to get a lower score, or a bowler is trying to get a higher score, it is through honest self-evaluation we can improve our number one game changer: technique. We can only grow so much on our own. Professional development like getting a personal trainer could help us in this area. Hiring a subject matter expert to help a focused measurable area is a lot like what our clients do when they assess and hire us. It always seems to be a wheel of improvement similar to ADDIE, but that is the way it works.

So, when I am trying to up my game, I have to first research my resources and figure out how to do this - besides having a discussion with a colleague on how to improve something, I believe the cheapest way is to find a used book with amazing content as recommended or written by people I trust in my field. A more expensive way is to find a whole bunch of people that are also trying to improve in this area and attend a conference on the subject matter. Sometimes in life we are blessed with a little extra money at the right time and the stars align and these conferences are golden opportunities.... however... you must treat them as such, ESPECIALLY if someone ELSE is paying. I have quite a list of some amazing and not so amazing training opportunities that have come my way, but I am at the point where I can call the shots and pick and choose what is best for me, instead of someone else doing it. This means I am lucky, and not in the normal population. Normal population has to go through a few hoops typically to get to go outside the company for some professional development. "Lucky" means not having those hoops.

Those darn icebreakers

Now.... when you go to a conference you MUST network. It is not an ugly word, but it is still by far, one of the most challenging things to do for people. One of those reasons happens to be the very embarrassing and sincerely weak ice-breaker sessions some facilitators make us go through to get to know one another - this is either on point, or failing miserably.  I tend to be overly critical about this, but I have been to no less than 40 conferences in my life (as a speaker or attendee), and it hasn't been on point, yet. Lesson: NEVER DO SOMETHING FOR THE SAKE OF DOING IT. Stephen Covey's famous habit: Begin with the end in mind. Let's get people talking to each other - isn't that the "end in mind"? Well, get them all engaged in something topical and on the same or different side about. No need for "Two truths and a lie", or forgive me friends, "Rock, Paper, Scissors" champions.

What are we here for?

When I go to a conference, I want ACTIONABLE things I can take back to my team and improve my product. That's what I paid all that money for - usable content. Current content I shouldn't be able to readily get anywhere else. I don't want recycled content from an old conference I went to last year or before, I want something cutting edge - show me innovation - what is working, and another important subject: what IS NOT working, so I don't fall into the trap of trying something that will eventually fail. I want to learn. I yearn to get better, so I can deliver the most amazing learning experiences to my students and for my clients.

The List:

1. For personal growth, technique matters.
2. Books are the cheapest way.
3. Find Subject Matter Experts - individually or at a conference.
4. Teach me what to do and what NOT to do.
5. When someone is paying, actionable content matters.

Some Video Links:

Taking Notes at ConferencesTake Better NotesHow to Take Notes at a ConferenceHow to Prepare for a ConferenceHow to Network at a ConferenceTop 10 Business Tips for Networking at ConferencesNetworking Basics: 8 Tips to Networking Without Being Fake