A masterful business professional understands that keys to success include the ability and willingness to recognize when career transition points (CTP) actually occur and that he or she must possess the keen foresight to develop and implement a winning strategy.
Most career transitions are obvious, some are not as evident. A CTP occurs anytime a change of focus is required, i.e., when a change in mission, major or minor, is underway. CTPs may be as simple as a new job task or as complex as a new job assignment in a new business area.
If you are entering the private sector as a service member, your mission has completely changed. It has transformed from protecting our country from all enemies, foreign and domestic, to protecting our bottom line.
Your new mission is to refocus your efforts into satisfying a customer who has options; one who decides whether or not to give us their business, one who we depend on for the very survival of the organization.
Your new mission is also very integrated. You now must rely on the establishment of an impeccable reputation, on consensus decisions and team direction, on the dynamics of satisfying internal customers, on the acceptance and consideration of opposing views, on the freedom to openly express opinions, on the reality that you may never interact with the paying customer, on the understanding that your contribution may be the difference between success and failure, and on the realization that failure could lead to loss of business and ultimately loss of job opportunities.
Understanding of the CTP concept will enhance the likelihood of success in the private sector. Assess where you are, identify your CTPs, and masterfully design a path destined toward success.
