A mere 7% of employees today fully understand their company's business strategies and what's expected of them in order to help achieve company goals.

Step one is to take ownership of figuring strengths ans weaknesses out. It starts with writing them down but, to take ownership, you have got to seek feedback of those who directly observe you - this is scary and uncomfortable for many people. It's no fun to hear negative feedback and most people don't want to stick their necks out to give it to you. So, you have to ask.

Process improvement programs are like teaching people how to fish. Strategy maps and scorecards teach people where to fish.

There are multiple ways to solve a problem and add value. There are seldom right answers. So, you've got to use your abilities to diagnose a situation and use your best judgment on what to do and how to do it. You WILL make mistakes - when you do, admit them and go back and try to fix them. I don't know is often the right answer.

It bears repeating: you don't have to be good at everything.

Rather than the word career, I prefer to discuss how you make a positive I pact on the world. This could mean raising your children, professional activities, non-profit work, or various other actions you take that impact others. I have found that, at all ages, people want to be needed and play a role in impacting the world.

Every person I meet is struggling with how to understand themselves and reach their full potential. No one has it fully figured out. It is a life long struggle - -there isn't a precise destination or arrival.