Are you thinking outside the box?

Are you thinking outside the box?

June 22nd, 2010 // 1:12 pm @ Tanya Kersey

Think­ing out­side the box is more than just a busi­ness cliché. It means approach­ing your career chal­lenges in new, inno­v­a­tive ways.

We’re told to “think out­side the box” all the time, but how exactly do we do that? How do we develop the abil­ity to con­front the myr­iad of career chal­lenges we face in ways other than the ways we nor­mally con­front chal­lenges? How do we cul­ti­vate the abil­ity to look at our careers dif­fer­ently from the way we typ­i­cally look at things?

One of the biggest chal­lenge most peo­ple face is the lack of a net­work, and lack of access to peo­ple in pow­er­ful net­work­ing cir­cles.  Most peo­ple just gripe about not being able to net­work and not know­ing any­one.  Why don’t you think out­side the box and fig­ure out a way to lever­age the assets you already have.  Who do you already know (actor, film­maker, attor­ney, pho­tog­ra­pher, etc.) and who do they know?  Start there.  Use what you’ve got. Think of a few peo­ple you know but haven’t cul­ti­vated a deep rela­tion­ship with.  Write their names down and think about how you might be able to help them, and how they can help you.  Rela­tion­ships are give-and-take and its not only about you get­ting the hook-up.  You have to have some­thing of value to add to other person’s life, or be the solu­tion to a prob­lem they have (can’t find the next great script or movie idea, can find a lead for their next film, etc.)

If you are unable to make new con­nec­tions, nour­ish and fur­ther develop the con­nec­tions you already have.

Make an effort to push your think­ing up to and beyond its limit and lever­age the assets that are already at your dis­posal.

If you want to work with me one-on-one to pro­pel your career to the next level: http://www.tanyakersey.com/coaching.

Category : Featured & Hollywood Career Strategies