Welcome to the new economy! The Great Recession has created a pervasive sence of uncertainty that has affected all of us. This sense of unceratinty has made it easy to fall prey to the trap of hopelessness and desperation. The purpose of this weekly blog series (and my upcoming book, The YOU Plan) is to help you cerate your own certaintly through planning! If you want to shine during this holiday season you will need to step up and take control!   

Trained as an organizational psychologist, I believe there are three ways you can react to the challenge of uncertain times: 

          – you can cower and hide,

          – you can buckle down and survive, or

          – you can step-up and thrive

For those looking to step-up and thrive, it’s time to start planning. Whether you are seeking to get that next job or just trying to guide your business forward, you must find your edge. To get that edge, you need to step back and take stock in yourself. To be successful you must know who you are, what you have to offer, and how to let others know about it! It all starts by answering the following five questions i like to refer to as VIPER:

          1) What are my Values?

          2) What are my Intrinsics?

          3) What are my Passions?

          4) What is my brand Essence?  

          5) What is my Roadmap?

Whenever I give workshops or work one-on-one with clients, i always find they struggle tremendously with answering these questions! If you want to get back in the game, you are going to have to step back and do some serious planning!

Each week I will be exploring one of the above questions and looking to get feedback from those of you out there fighting to get back in the game! 

If you want to take back control, it’s time to step-up and start planning.

-Dr. Woody

To see morw, check out: www.DrWoody.com