“To be the Best, Model the Best”
"Through my unique blend of experience as senior corporate manager, MBA lecturer and Entrepreneur, I have combined the best practices of business and academia, and evolved these two models. You can use them to enable your people to maximize their talent and achieve rewarding results for themselves and the organization."
Han’s Model for “Finding your Career Niche”
This is a model that I’ve used successfully with more than 6,000 individuals in the last three years to help them transit effectively, whether from job to job, or from job to being their own boss. It is a framework that can be easily adapted to your unique context.
The five steps in “ Han’s Finding Your Career Niche” Model are:
- Discovering Yourself
- Researching the Market
- Identifying your Niche
- Living your Plan
- Evaluating your Results
The model does not have to run sequentially from step 1 to 5. Depending on your current situation and aspiration, you can loop back to any step in the process to get the best results.
This process is both practical and relevant. It does not matter whether you are a school leaver, a mid career professional, or a pre-retiree with 35 years experience, because it is based on whom you are and what you do best.
Step 1: Discovering Yourself
Whether you aspire to be an employee, an Entrepreneur or someone in between, you must discover your authentic self. It is the self you are designed to be, with your unique strengths and talents. If you choose a vocation aligned with it, you will experience a lifetime of joy and growth doing the work you enjoy.
The key components include your skills, life purpose, passion, values, experience, perceived barriers, expertise, network, your drive (motivation.) and the number of dependants you have. Discover who you really are and set yourself free.
Step 2: Researching the Market
With information from step 1, you research what the market wants and the opportunities available for you as an individual, through information search, targeted networking, information interviewing etc… Awareness of market trends and growth opportunities is mandatory. The tools include Internet search engines, yellow pages, daily classifieds, your network etc…
One of the key skills is to learn how to spot opportunities, like the hidden job market or upcoming trends so that you can maximize them. In the context of an organization, the market becomes the opportunities present within the organizational context.
Step3: Identifying your Niche
(2 broad streams)
Once you have explored the opportunities, you can pursue either 1 or 2 streams, ie. the job market as an employee, and/or the market at large as a freelancer/entrepreneur, based on your findings from step 1 & 2. In essence, what can you do better than what is being offered on the market. What is so special about your offer that people cannot find else where?
Set a SMART objective and plan your route of advance. Then work your plan. Do this well and you will lock out your competitors because your clients will stay with you. Tip from the trenches: never compete on price, because there will always be cheaper alternatives. You should focus on providing superior value.
Step 4: Living your Plan
Once you have identified your niche, you have to plan your work and work your plan. If you choose the employee path (within or outside the organization), you will focus your efforts on
- Job search strategies
- Resume design secrets
- Power interviewing skills
- Evaluating job offers
- Negotiating the optimum package
If you choose the freelancer/Entrepreneur path, you will focus on:
- Bundling your skills & experience
- Designing a unique value proposition
- Targeting prospective clients
- Delivering great value & great service
- Building your portfolio/business
Step 5: Evaluating your Results
Measure your progress against preset targets in Step 3. Without targets, you will not know whether you are on track or off track. Take the time to set your targets clearly in Step 3. If you like the result, keep at it and make it better.
If you don’t like the result, do something about it and build on what you have achieved. In this race, there is no finish line. It is evolving with you as you go through the different ages of your adult life.
Han’s Model for “Personal Mastery”
To achieve what we want in life, the only way is to achieve mastery in our chosen niches.
The five steps in the “ Han’s Personal Mastery” Model are:
Awareness
Step 1: Awareness – You heard about it
Knowledge
Step 2: Knowledge –You can talk about it
Competence
Step 3: Competence – You can do it well
Expertise
Step 4: Expertise – You can do it very well
Mastery (Wisdom)
Step 5: Mastery (Wisdom) – You can do it very well, with best returns
The model runs sequentially from step 1 to 5. Depending on your current situation and aspiration, you can loop back to any step in the process to get the best results. This process works because it is based on what you enjoy and how far you want to go.
Try it out - help your employees maximize their potential, and your bottom-line!