1. Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ Getting Started on Your Skills Analysis Paper – U-Inc

2. 2 Bring Together Your Ideas and Insights Your Personal Skills Analysis and Reflection Paper 1.Mission 2.Vision 3.Values 4.Assets 5.Liabilities 6.Customer Base 7.Product Line 8.Capital Investments and Profitability 9.Growth Objectives and Measures

3. 3 Your Personal Skills Analysis and Reflection Paper -- U Inc. This paper is a self-analysis of your leadership skills. “U Inc” is an annual report on the status of you as a “company.” Use the outline in this module/ syllabus Include data from all parts of the class – self assessments, multi- source feedback, class exercises, etc. Be as specific as possible – give data, examples, reflections – and connect information you’ve gathered to concepts and data about other aspects of your leadership style, preferences, behaviors, and goals. Submit by email to zvi.aronson@stevens.edu

4. 4 Mission, Vision, Values Mission -- Why are you doing what you are doing – in life, not just at work! Vision -- Where are you going? What do you see yourself doing (in career, in life) in 5 years? 10 years? Values -- What are the principles that govern your behavior? How did these values develop and change over time? Give examples of how they show up in your life and leadership actions. Helpful prompts: “People who really know me would say that I really care about…” “If I couldn’t live these _______ values, I would be miserable.” “Doesn’t everyone think this is important? – It’s so obvious to me!”

5. 5 Assets – Strengths – Current Status This is the most extensive section of the paper. Describe and integrate your insights about what makes you successful at work/ in life. Integrate data, examples, reflections from all assessments and activities in class with your experience in your career to give a full picture of what you do well.

6. 6 Liabilities – Limitations – Current Status This is the flip-side of your Assets section. What weaknesses have you observed? What behaviors would you like to do more or less of? What attributes of your personal leadership style and preferences cause concern? Which assessments (self or other) indicate an area to investigate further? Give examples of how the liabilities show up.

7. 7 Customer Base Who cares? What people, groups, or organizations are interested in the skills and products you offer? Define customers very broadly – internal or external to work, paid work or community service, family, avocations, etc. Considering your vision, also describe your potential customers.

8. 8 Product Line What do you offer others? What do people count on you for? Are your offerings narrow (specialized) or broad (generalist)? How do you differentiate your products from those offered by others? What is special or unique? To what extent are you creating a product line that offers you a sustained competitive advantage? Give examples of how your talents, skills, perspective, approach, style, expertise create value for others. Don’t be modest!

9. 9 Capital Investments & Profitability What capital investments have you made in “U Inc.”? How profitable has “U Inc.” been? Is ‘U Inc” more valuable today that one year ago? Three years ago? How do you measure profitability? Given your mission and vision, what other measures of profitability do you now need to develop?

10. 10 Growth Objectives & Measures Identify 2 leadership skills that you want to improve. Select one that you have a reasonable likelihood of being able to improve over 4 weeks. Select one that will require a bigger stretch, perhaps 6-8 months. For the U Inc paper, briefly describe your current level of competence in each area, how improving each skill will help you be a more effective leader, and a brief “first thoughts” paragraph about how you could invest and measure progress in each skill. (This section is likely to become the starting place for your skills development paper.)

11. 11 Reflection – Personal Mission Statement Exercise Part 1. How would these people describe me? Intimates Friends and Coworkers Strangers

12. 12 Reflection – Personal Mission Statement Exercise Part 2. Complete the columns below 3+ things, at the core, that I want most in life. What I really want personally and emotionally. 3 + things I want to experience in my lifetime. Things I’d like to see happen in any aspect of my life, local or global. 3 things that make me unique – 3 of my gifts 3 improvements or positive actions I can undertake in my life, perhaps during the next two weeks. Complete the sentence, “I can…”

13. 13 Reflection – Personal Mission Statement Exercise Part 3. Circle the most important entry you wrote in each of the 4 lists, that is, the one from each of the 4 columns that you decide is the most powerful or meaningful to you. Complete the following statement using the entries you circled: “I will (column 4) ______________________________________ using my (column 3) ___________________________________ in order to accomplish (column 2) ________________________ __________________________________ and in doing so, also achieve (Column 1) _______________________________.”

14. 14 Moving from Mission to Vision If I accept this mission and live who I am, what does it guide me to do? Relationships (family, friends, work, etc.): Health (physical, mental, spiritual): Career Direction: $$: Community: And other areas that matter to me include: In sum, knowing who I am and my mission in life, the clearest statement of my vision for the foreseeable future is: