'We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity. Success in this knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves-- their strengths, constraints, values and how they best perform. Successful careers are not planned. They develop when people are prepared for opportunities because they know their strengths, values and method of work. Knowing where one belongs can transform a hardworking and competent person into an outstanding performer.'

As the workforce has shifted from lifetime employment to today where one can expect to change careers up to nine times in a fifty year work span, it is rarely possible or even productive to look beyond two years.

Today, as some doors close and careers become obsolete, other opportunities arise. To recognize these new opportunities, it is critical to cultivate a deep understanding of ourselves- not only our strengths and constraints, but what values and work environments bring out our best. We need to assess our ability to work collaboratively and discover where we can make the biggest contributions and reap the largest rewards.

A highly successful method to cultivate this understanding is feedback analysis. In today's marketplace, success and true excellence is arrived at only when we operate with 'self-understanding'. It is vital to choose a career that coincides with each of our individual strengths and what we are 'hardwired' to do well. Equally, it is essential to remedy self-defeating habits that prevent success.

At AMAN Consultant, since 1991 it has been our experience  that almost no one knows what they are good at. Even when they think they do, they are usually mistaken. Concurrently, almost no one is aware of what they are not hardwired to do well. Furthermore, it is a very rare person who is aware of self-defeating habits that prevent him or her from achieving wanted results.

"History's greatest achievers-- Napoleon, da Vinci, Mozart have always managed themselves." as Peter Drucker further states in the HBR article. Indeed, these successful people have been captains of their own work lives.

Now it is up to us to do so if we are to be productive in the new work environment with its unlimited possibilities. It is time to manage ourselves in this uncertain and at times uncomfortable market place-- there is work for us out there and it is our responsibility to find it. If we discover that new work, we are hardwired to do well in today's possibilities, we can experience joy, satisfaction, results and rewards, previously unknown in our work.