Short-Term and Long-Term Career Goals Essay Example

short-term goal that I am convinced is the best way to achieve my long term goal. From my research of the program and study of the model, and especially the idea of the cohort approach, I am convinced that this program will help me strengthen areas that I need to improve.

I am eager to enhance my expertise in marketing and finance, while also being intrigued by the evaluation and recognition of performance in other companies. I have a keen interest in exploring academic research on organizational behavior and decision-making. At Boeing, I have identified areas where we can make improvements based on my experience. Hence, my primary objective is to utilize my existing influence to implement ideas and best practices gained from colleagues and professors in the TMBA program. Recently, I had the chance to oversee an engineering team at Boeing that was accountable for providing temperature predictions to design teams.

After reviewing the team's portfolio and deadlines, I realized that I didn't have a full understanding of the projects or if the deadlines were feasible. To address this, I decided to trust my team and assume that the existing schedules were achievable. Initially, everything went smoothly and the team reached early milestones and released smaller deliverables on time. However, there was one major project, a thermal analysis of the new 777-9X wing, that caused concern. This project required merging the work of five individual engineers about a month before the deadline under the supervision of the project lead.

Almost immediately, the integration work started taking longer than anticipated. At this point, I discovered that my team had never merged sub-models of this size and complexity before.

To address this issue, I promptly assembled the team along with senior subject matter experts who were impartial. We collectively brainstormed strategies to resolve the situation. However, when we tested these ideas against the detailed schedule, it became clear that meeting the original deadline without compromising quality would be impossible. As a result, the subsequent decision was whether to hide this problem for as long as possible or confront it with my team.

Instead of driving the team ruthlessly and hoping for a miracle, I decided to take a transparent approach. I asked for help and explained the resources I needed to recover from the unfortunate situation. I shared all the details with leadership and downstream customers, and also presented a detailed project schedule along with a new achievable completion date.

Despite the negative outcome, I surprisingly received support and positive feedback for my handling of the situation. The recovery period presented unexpected challenges, but we managed to overcome them through adaptation and improvisation. I am proud to say that we delivered the promised results to our downstream customers on the exact day projected in our recovery plan.

This experience taught me an invaluable lesson about trust. Trust is earned by both leaders and teams. I now have insight into warning signs and questions to consider when evaluating project plans and status updates.

In the second decision, I acknowledged the importance of transparency and would choose to do the same if faced with a similar situation. Additionally, I wish to utilize this opportunity to provide additional information about myself and delve into a topic that truly inspires me. In my prior position at Boeing, leaders were tasked with creating

a diversity blueprint. Throughout that time, I struggled to contribute as I believed I had nothing of worth to bring forth. This perception arose from being an individual from a middle-class American family with white Anglo-Saxon heritage.

During my youth, I was part of a Protestant faith community that was entirely uniform. Personally, I found it uninteresting and lacking in diversity. As a result, I disregarded the variety within my own life story. However, everything changed for me in April 2012 when Christopher Norris, the CEO and founder of Alta Devices in Silicon Valley, gave a speech at my alma mater, the University of Idaho. This speech completely transformed how I view myself and the value of my diverse perspective and experiences. Interestingly enough, Christopher Norris also comes from a farming background in a small rural town in Idaho.

Christopher, like many others, attended the University of Idaho after completing high school. He obtained an engineering degree there because of his love for math and science and his skill in building things. This eventually led him to a Silicon Valley internship that launched his successful career. Christopher is remarkable not only for his intelligence and passion but also for his commendable modesty. His technological concepts and outlook are both intriguing and convincing. However, what impressed me most was the motivation he provided students based on his personal experience.

Initially, Christopher felt embarrassed about his upbringing on a rural Idaho farm as it differed from the usual background of accomplished business executives and founders. However, as he achieved success in his career, he started realizing the significance of his diverse background and how it contributed to his sense of

pride. Christopher's experience resonated with me, prompting contemplation about my own professional accomplishments.

Reflecting on my background, I used to see the unique aspects as burdensome. As a young person, I spent countless hours on my parent's farm, walking along rows of sugar beets under the scorching summer sun. My brother and I would manually remove weeds with a hoe, which felt incredibly monotonous. During those moments, I often looked up at the contrails from passing jets and wished I was onboard, heading somewhere interesting and doing something important. However, in hindsight, I am grateful for growing up where and how I did because it instilled qualities such as determination, resilience, agility, and problem-solving skills.

Furthermore, it provided me with a distinctive and precious approach to innovation.