In French cooking the chefs use this phrase Mis-a-Place (miz ɑ̃ plas), Meez for short, which conveys how, in a professional kitchen, the initial preparation of equipment and ingredients is carried out before the commencement of cooking. French chefs—and other good ones, too—are quite fastidious about planning, organizing, and mentally getting ready for their cooking endeavors, not just in the kitchen as they are cooking, but even when they are shopping for utensils, tools, ingredients, and kitchen equipment. They show a good design-thinking mindset when they adopt this approach. In this approach the end game is to create an exceptional customer experience while maintaining their brand, business reputation, and profitability. Nothing they do is casual, by trial and error, or by accident. Any modifications, including initial preparations are diligently noted in their journals so that the experience can be repeated without guesswork. It is a mindset that separates top chefs from all others.

Career management, too, is like cooking up your future with a methodical approach, Meez, and with a tried-and-true process that is more likely to produce the right outcomes than if done by adopting trial and error and without any planning and preparation. Here design thinking is more likely to pay rich dividends in every aspect of your life than just a great job with the right earning power: job satisfaction, work-life balance, and earnings that let you pursue your lifestyle and acknowledgment of your status within your ecosystem. All of these can happen as a result of executing this design-thinking mindset throughout your career. In my coaching practice I find more prospects use trial and error to how they manage their career and then come to me when things are not working out for them or when they get into trouble.

Although not every prospect falls in that category and not every client continues to operate in the ad hoc mode—then they do not need me; they can continue to do this on their own—most are able to change their errant ways after understanding the discipline of career management and knowing what some of the codified principles are that I have compiled over the years after working with more than 6,000 clients in 23 countries. So, what are some of the tried-and-true principles or practices that work for managing a career on a sound footing? Here is my partial career management Meez list:

1. Choosing your path: The earlier you choose the path that brings you joy in your work the more engaged you will be in your work and the more you’ll be able contribute in return. When you pursue your love work ceases and joy begins. Remember in the phrase “Pursuit of happiness,” most often think that to pursue means is to chase something. Although this is one meaning of it, but it also means to attract. If you follow what you love to do you’ll attract the right opportunities that bring you joy and happiness in your career pursuits.
2. Personal Mastery: I’ve emphasized this throughout my writings. To master something you love to do is much easier than to struggle to achieve mastery because your pursuits are mercenary. Many pursue a career because it pays good money, even when their heart is not in it. If you really love something it is much easier to master something without struggle and then spending 10,000 diligent hours of focused work that it requires to master it is no longer a burden. So, developing personal mastery in your pursuits and surpassing the 10,000-hour floor (not ceiling) can happen without your having to keep looking at the clock!
3. Building a brand: Much has been written about building your brand around your core value proposition. If you achieve personal mastery and keep pushing yourself to excel it is natural for others to see you as the brand in what you pursue.
4. Pursuing challenges: Surveys after surveys have shown that nearly 80% of the employees are not engaged in their jobs (with nearly 30% actively disengaged). They get used to taking orders from their higher-ups without seeking some control over what they do. There are plenty of uncharted challenges in any role that go beyond the scope of that role. Identifying those challenges that show your business insights and taking charge on your own to make some change in the status-quo can be a great way to make a mark in how you deliver your value in any endeavor in which you engage.
5. Aiming high: Surrounding yourself with the top achievers in your own field will create an environment of action for you to excel in all your endeavor and to become a top achiever yourself. This is why vigilant network building and participating in the right forums where you stay visible are so important in your career growth.
6. Challenging yourself: Instead of competing with someone else you admire, compete with yourself. Learn how to do better in each action you take from a similar action from the past. This is a sure-fire way to beat even your most fierce competition.
7. Mentoring others: If you want to be mentored by someone you admire, become a mentor yourself first and learn from mentoring. Approach your mentor and ask for them to mentor you by showing how you have already made a difference in those you mentor.
8. Learning to tell your story: Most professionals focus on their résumé by crafting bullets of their actions or activities. They fail to see the underlying leadership story of their success and how to narrate that story in a compelling way. I call this your leadership narrative. Learn how to plan your next task (remember Meez?) so that when you are done you have one great story that becomes the next bullet on your résumé.
9. Learning from the past: No career paths works out per plan and setbacks are inevitable as a result. It is learning from these setbacks that insulates you from future mistakes, which can be repeats of your past. So, keep a vigilant eye on any setback and learning from them, as you aggressively navigate through your career plan.
10. Pivoting at the right time: No career is forever. As new frontiers appear that present new challenges learn how to make the best use of these opportunities by pivoting, sometimes even preemptively, going in a new and exciting direction. Seek advice from those who have done this before or who know how it works. Always keep your passions fresh and your work energized!

Career management is a process based on a methodical approach much like what the French and other master chefs use. You, too, can use their recipe and become a master career builder for yourself and please your most ardent critique—you!

Good luck!