- A young man accepts an internal promotion in a small Midwest office of a New York-based advertising agency because of the title that goes with it. A couple of years later he discovers it's almost impossible to get back to any advertising firm in New York from this remote outpost. His goal of becoming a vice-president of a large New York agency is thwarted.
- An executive in his mid-thirties leaves the position of purchasing manager, the number-two slot in a large purchasing department, because he feels he can make more money in the next fifteen years by accepting a job in brand management. After a couple of years he is told by his boss that he has "no future in brand management." Only then does he discover there is no way to work his way back into purchasing at the same level he had reached a couple of years before. His goal of becoming rich at an early age is tossed out the window.
- A young vice-president with a large, well-known consulting firm leaves to join a new, two-man consulting firm set up by a former associate in his old company. He makes his move based on the lure of stock participation in the new firm. Sixteen months later the fledgling firm collapses. The executive then finds out that his experience with the unknown company is not sale able. He cannot relocate as a vice-president with a prestige firm such as the one he was formerly with. (This young vice-president had the potential of becoming a partner in his original firm if he only waited it out. He might not have owned as many shares, but they would have been worth more, and his goal of equity could have been achieved.)
Establish an overall career goal for yourself, as well as a goal for your next job
Your career goal should be reasonable-one which a person in your position can hope to achieve within the next fifteen years. What do I mean by reasonable? Well, it might be reasonable, for example, for an aggressive young person who has just graduated from business school to hope to become the president of a two-hundred-million-dollar division of a billion-dollar company within fifteen years. But, should this same business school graduate hold the title of financial planning analyst twelve years later, continuing to pursue his original career goal of becoming a company president may not be realistic. How can you tell what's reasonable? One way is to develop a series of progressive job titles you might have to pass through in order to get to your long-term goal, and then assign a time frame to each. Let's say you are the financial analyst above, and that you are now thirty-five. What steps could you take in order to become president of a two-hundred-million-dollar company. One logical progression might be:
- Assistant Treasurer, responsible for the financial aspects of acquisitions and divestitures. (This job provides you with a second discipline that broadens your exposure within the treasurer's function and is most likely to result from an internal lateral move.)
- Assistant Treasurer, responsible for financial planning, reporting to a treasurer (you might shoot for this step up when you relocate at this time).
- Treasurer, responsible for all treasury functions with assistant treasurers reporting to you in the areas of planning, acquisitions, investor relations and bank relations. (This is your first exposure to two other critical treasury functions. More than likely it will have to result from a promotion.)
- Chief Financial Officer, with treasurer and controller reporting to you. (At long last you have exposure beyond the treasurer's department.)
- Chief Administrative Officer, now with finance and general administration reporting to you. (A job change or a promotion broadening your exposure still further.)
- President, in a division in which a background in financial management is more important than, say, a background in marketing, sales, or operations. (A job change or a promotion.)
