The easy way to develop your skills

People generally learn a range of skills when they’re at school/college/university. Then, for various reasons, some people stop learning. It might be initially frustrating, or they may think they lack motivation or opportunity so they stick with what they know.

But they’re missing out on a lot – often learning a new skill can blossom into an unexpected passion, introduce you to a whole new circle of people, push your career in a satisfying new direction or give you a whole new perspective on the world.

And it doesn’t have to be work-related skills – interests like learning a language, or how to cook, or how to appreciate art will enhance your life, and you never know where they might lead.

The easiest way to make this happen is to schedule your learning into your routine, perhaps just a little time, but regularly – that’s the secret. Just keep showing up – building your skills little by little.

You’ll look back in a year and realise you’re well on your way to mastery. And as well as your new skill, you’ll also have a great sense of satisfaction.

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Business Cases: Official vs Personal

We all know the rules about business cases:

• A project should not be initiated unless the appropriate stakeholders accept the business case;
• The outcomes of the business case form part of the success criteria for the project, and;
• The project manager is responsible for achieving those outcomes.

The project manager periodically checks that the project is delivering a solution that satisfies the business case and, if it’s not, puts it back on course.

From time to time, the project manager also confirms that the reasons for the business case are still valid. If they aren’t, the project is cancelled so the people involved can move onto work that serves the business.

A project can have a couple of different business cases. It will always have the official business case, created by the business to fulfill their goals. It can also have a vendor’s business case – this is created in response to their customer’s business case and incorporates both the customer’s and the vendor’s reasons for being involved in the project.

But there’s another business case that usually doesn’t get the attention it deserves – your own.

Your personal business case consists of the reasons why you’re involved in the project, such as monetary reward, reputation, job security and/or the intellectual challenge. But like any other business case, if you’re not really clear about your goals up front, and don’t review your progress towards them regularly, you run the real risk of putting in a lot of time and effort to find you haven’t met them in the end.

As for any other business case, your personal business case serves two purposes:

1. It gives you the ‘it’s just not worth it –I’m outta here’ criteria, and, more importantly;
2. It drives you forward – when you’re in the heat of battle, it reminds you why you’re working so hard and putting yourself under pressure.

So know your personal business case before the project starts – be very clear about the reasons you’re involved in the project, and define your exit criteria now, before the going gets tough. Then, with regular reviews, you’ll be able to keep focused on what’s important, stay motivated through those tough times and achieve your goals.

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