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 1/22/2007 |
Personal Inventory Time
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This is the time of year where a lot of businesses take inventory.
They count what they have in stock, and they compare those totals to what they think they have, and what they know they sold.
It’s an exercise in understanding reality.
It never fails to amaze me when I deal with some retailers. They aren’t totally sure exactly what they have on the shelves. An example is a washer I bought a couple of years ago. The retailer said they had three of them in stock – but when they actually went looking for them, it turned out they only had one washer – and it was on the showroom floor (and it didn’t work, but that’s another story).
But I guess it’s that way with people, as well – most of us don’t really have a good idea of what we personally have to offer. We know what we think we have “in stock,” but until we take inventory – in other words, look at it critically and optimistically, we don’t really have a handle on what we can accomplish.
So for this inventory time, let’s take a few minutes and count what we have in stock – what we can count, and how we can count it.
If we consider ourselves as we would a business, we have talents, abilities, experience, and attitude all ready to “sell” to a prospective customer, an employer, or to a loved one or friend. All these attributes form our inventory.
Just as a retailer takes inventory in order to assess a value to what is actually on the premises, we can take a personal inventory, and find out what “items” we have to “sell,” and what value to place on what we have to offer.
Take a bit of time and look at your own life. What do you consider the most important attribute you have to offer? Is it your experience in a particular industry? Is it a talent that is heavily marketable? Is it your attention to detail, your appreciation of others, your ability to learn and adapt? What is your chief ability? What has the most worth to you and others? How about your other talents? What kind of inventory do you have? What do you have “on the shelf,” so to speak, to offer?
How much do you have to offer? Do you need to build up your ability to offer this talent, through education, training, or investment? Could you maximize your talents by enlisting the help of others, whether it be someone to help you critically judge your abilities, or someone to help you put those abilities to use?
What options do you have for developing areas that would provide more worth? Like a high-end retailer, are you “stocking” the right items that provide the most value – or are you a lower-end retailer, trying to achieve higher returns through volume?
Whatever you have to offer, and whatever you can bring to the table, this time of year is a good time to take a few minutes, sit back, and list those areas of your personal and professional life that can be most utilized to bring you the dreams you desire.
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