The Building a Successful Firm - Essay Example

?PERSONAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS Personal Management Skills Introduction Personal management skills may be defined as one’s ability to control their behavior, attitude and motivation (Whetten and Kin, 1998). A good understanding of the key personal management skills is very important for anyone who wishes to succeed career-wise. The skills play a very big role in determining a person’s productivity (Ciampi, 2009, p. 489). As such, it is extremely important to invest in ways that can help in improving one’s self development. Knowing one’s own self management skills is as important as understanding the business one is carrying out. Working on improving your self improvement skills is a life-long process since the more someone improves the skills the more they succeed in business. There are a number of self management skills that are very crucial in determining the future of anyone’s career or business. One such skill is personal time management skills, which help in making sure that all urgent tasks are done in time, especially when there is little time at one’s disposal. There is also motivation which is the driving force for one’s desire to succeed in a particular field. A person also needs adequate self discipline that will ensure that they are true to themselves and true to their principles. In addition, one needs to be emotionally stable so as to rationally respond to both anger and good news. Strategic thinking is also important since it helps focus in the future by appropriately planning all the actions affecting one in their career. One also needs an analytical mind to ensure timely evaluation of the validity of opinions and ideas. Another important skill is intelligence, which guides one in not only calculating logical arguments but also in processing them in time. Upholding of professional ethics is another important skill. This acts as a control against evil and negative causes that may confuse a person while pursuing dreams in a given career. One also needs highly developed communication skill for communicating one’s expectations and also relating to others at work. Lastly, physical health may also be considered as a management skill, since if one does not work on their physical strength all the activities they carry out may fail (Pride et al., 2001, p. 110-114). I strongly believe in my personal management skills and as such equally believe in my ability to succeed in my career of choice. My career objective is to open a firm that offers legal advice as well as final guidance to both private and private organizations. I am well aware of the skills required of me to succeed in field of choice. First, one has to pursue a degree in a relevant course at the university. In addition to this degree, internship in a busy firm before opening your own firm is very crucial. One also needs to be well equipped with relevant analytical skills. Communication skills are also a crucial component of the most important skills. In the legal field, one is required to possess sound judgemental skills, and be able to effectively work in teams. Moreover, one needs to have a deep knowledge of the various concepts in law, and be able to understand emerging law concepts with ease and accuracy. To wrap it all, one needs to be very organized in how they work and how they assign duties to people that work under them. This is to make sure that there is neither confusion nor duplication of duties (Institute of Personnel Management and Development, 2003, pp. 157, 292, 305). Therefore, in order to achieve my dream I believe I should possess at least most of the skills listed above. I am already pursuing an undergraduate degree in a business related field. After my first degree I plan to pursue a Masters degree in Finance and Accounting. I strongly believe that the two degrees will fully equip me to confidently handle the financial matters that will be presented to me at work. The Masters degree, for instance, will provide me with a deep knowledge in the subject matter as well as equip me with the required analytical skills. Immediately after the Masters degree I plan to take a PhD in Law. This will further add more analytical skills to my basket. It will also broaden my perspective on legal matters as well as provide me with more knowledge that will ease my work in the field. I also plan to look for a part-time job in management in an already established firm. This will expose me to the many challenges that I may meet later when managing my own firm. It will also serve as an opportunity for me to work with successful managers who are likely to positively impact in my career as I put the theory learnt in class into real practice. In addition, I shall attend part-time classes in Finance to further equip myself with an additional financial knowledge. Passing through all these institutions of knowledge and work will definitely strengthen my team work skills as well as help me build the confidence needed in the building a successful firm. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is one of the strategic planning methods applied by both individuals and organizations. It assists one to appropriately assess their strengths, weaknesses or limitations, opportunities, and threats they see in a particular objective or project (Cottrel 2003). We mostly depend on SWOT analysis while making plans for our future endeavors. As such, it is very important to identify our SWOTs in order to appropriately plan for our objectives. It is only through this analysis that one may discover whether or not they have the needed qualities to succeed in a project (Bohn, 2009, pp. 1-2). As a much focused potential firm owner, I have worked on my own SWOT analysis. Strengths The strengths that may help me succeed in the field have clearly been spelt out. I strongly believe in my communication and literary skills, and this assures me of effective communication with both my clients and employees once I set up a firm. I also have the ability to complete my tasks well, even when under immense pressure. I am also a flexible person who can easily adapt to any environment, and as such will not find it a challenge establishing my firm wherever I shall the needed space. I am also creative and always ready to take risks, a factor that will help me, especially at the initial stages of establishing my firm. In addition, I am bilingual and this is set to help me reduce my challenges based on language barrier. I am also responsible, which when combined with my management skills; I strongly believe that I will manage my firm well. Moreover, I am a fast learner and with ability to develop appropriate skills whenever faced with an unfamiliar situation. This will help me conceptualize the emerging technological inventions and tackle the new challenges in my field. I also rely on the experiences I gained at the university’s NSA, where we organized various events for fellow students, and especially the new ones. Dealing with foreign students, for instance, has made confident in handling clients from other countries once the firm is in place. During my work I also participated in advising our Principal on how to improve student life in the institution. This was a rare opportunity for developing a positive sense of self-esteem, a factor which is very crucial for any manager. The organization also entrusted me with the duties of a project manager, a position which helped me develop my management skills even further. Weaknesses Just like any other human being, I also have my weaknesses that my come on my way to achieving my goals. I am a very short-tempered person, and one who easily feel de-motivated in the working environment. Moreover, a monotonous job makes me to easily lose focus. Lastly, I am one type of person who seldom takes criticism positively, even when well-intentioned. However, in order to prevent my personal limitations from derailing my dream, I have embarked on a journey to change where possible. I have also learnt to concentrate more on my strengths, which most of the time motivate me to follow my dream to the end. If I was able to effectively represent my colleagues, even at international events such as those in our main campus in Whales, then I have nothing to fear about my weaknesses; I will succeed as I did in NSA. Opportunities With my aspirations come very many opportunities in my field of choice. Even just after my Masters degree, I shall be illegible for management positions in international organizations. There are also many local organizations seeking for project managers, and I would not mind working in any of them while strategizing to start my own firm. My potential to work in bigger firms may help me grow to accept criticism, especially when working under strict supervisors. Working in other firms may also help me to be able to handle the boredom of doing monotonous jobs since I will have the opportunity the meet other people who have successfully developed their careers under the same conditions. With time I can learn to limit my weaknesses and become more effective. In addition, the global financial crisis, introduction of alternative business structures and the impact of personal injury reform on the profitability of small firms has driven a lot of changes in the UK (Cabanis-Brewin, 2010, p.200). This not only increases demand for project managers in these small firms, but also gives an advantage to use the skills I am acquiring to successfully compete with their firms once I establish mine. Threats My first threat is that I may lose my motivation to own a firm before I achieve my goals. For this I should look for a strong form of self-motivation or else all my dreams will be doomed. The lack of motivation may in some cases come after I establish my firm, and as such prevent me from meeting my deadlines. I also fear that I may start my business on the wrong foot and set myself for an inevitable failure. My inability to take criticism positively, if not changed, may make me clash with colleagues and bosses, at the least, but may also set me for failure if I establish my own firm. My competitors may take advantage of this to bring me down. And while dealing with clients, I may lose patience if a client criticizes me, and this may affect my firm a big deal. Conclusion Having a complete understanding of one’s own strengths and weaknesses helps them to know where to improve and also what qualities to maintain so as to succeed in a certain career. The opportunities available in a field serve to motivate one to work even harder to achieve their goals The threats, on the other hand, show us where to seriously improve if success is what we want (Pedler et al, 2007). According to Cameron, to succeed in a field one needs to seriously consider their self development, in terms of personal management skills as well as personality assessment (qtd. in Butler and Hope, 1998). I strongly believe that understand what I am able to do and what I cannot, and I am very confident that I shall achieve my dream of not only working in a large firm but also that I shall establish my own firm and use my skills to run it. References Dismore, Paul C. and Cabanis-Brewin, Jeanette 2010. The AMA Handbook Project Manager. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, p. 200. Bohn, Anja 2009, The SWOT Analysis. GRIN Verlag. pp. 1- 2. Pride, William M. et al 2001, Business. Cengage Learning, pp. 110-114. “People Management, Volume 9” 2003, Institute of Personnel and Development. Personnel Publications, pp. 157, 292, 305. Ciampi, Francesco ( a curadi) 2009, Emerging Issues and challenges in Business and Economics: Selected contributions from the 8th Global Conference. P. 489. Butler, Gillian and Hope, Tony 1996, Manage Your Mind. OUP. Whetten, David A, KinKins 1998, Cameron Developing Management Skills, 4th Edition. Addison Wesley. Pedler, M. et al 2007, A Manager’s Guide to Self Development. McGraw Hill, London. Cottrell S 2003, Skills for Success: The Personal Development Planning Handbook. Palgrave Study Guides. Read More