Applying Portfolio Management To Your Career

During my Master Degree course, I came across the term portfolio management, particularly in the context of IT Applications, and Project Management.

In Portfolio Management, there are typically two kind of expenditures. - Opex (Operating Expenditures) are what a business had to spend to keep their current IT applications operating, also known as 'sustaining the business'. - Capex (Capital Expenditures) are what a business spend on new IT projects to 'improve/enhance the business'.

A healthy business should strive to achieve at least a 70/30 ratio of Opex/Capex. That is, they spend 70% of their expenditures on sustaining the business, and 30% on innovating/improving their business. It sounds logical and reasonable, yet not many business is able to achieve that. Most fall into a 80/20, or 90/10.

So How Does This Concept Apply To Your Career?

Ask yourself, how much of your time are you spending on sustaining your career, and how much of your time are you spending on improving it? Let's put this into context of an IT Programmer (since that is the profession I am most familiar with).

Do you even spend time improving yourself, or do you spend all your time simply doing your work, and then enjoying life? If you are not improving yourself, it could be described as a company not willing to spend money to maintain, nor improve their IT applications to help business. What do you think will happen to these companies?

If you do spend time improving yourself, what are the areas you are improving on?

Are you reading up on Programming related topics? Social communication and presentation skills? This could be seen as Opex. Skills and knowledge that are applicable to your work directly.

How about Application Design? Design Patterns? Security Lifecycle? Project Management? This could be seen as Capex. New skills that will enhance your personal value. Giving you opportunities to advance your career, because you know more than the guy in the next cubicle.

TOGAF? COBIT? ITIL? Program Management? IT Governance? These are Capex as well. They might not be directly relevant, but they give you insight on why some things are done the way they are, and give you an edge to the guy in the next office, when you leave your current cubicle and move into an office room by yourself. Why wait until then to begin your Capex investment? You could start it now, bit by bit!

Alignment To The End Goal

But let us not go too far. Just as in Portfolio Management, it should be aligned to business. Guided by business goals, vision, objectives, your personal Career Portfolio Management should have goals, vision, objectives as well. What do you really want to be at the end? An Enterprise Solution Architect? CIO? Security Consultant? Program Director?

Career Milestones

With an end goal/vision in mind, you can then start your Career Roadmap. Prepare Career milestones. Perhaps you will transit from IT Programmer to a Team Lead, then Solution Architect, and finally an Enterprise Solution Architect.

Career Capabilities

Identify the skills, certifications, experience, or anything you might need at each milestone. Let us adapt the TOGAF term of Business Capabilities, and call them Career Capabilities.

One example of Career Capabilities could be being a known as a Security Expert. Things to achieve this capability could be a CISSP certification, or mini experimental projects/deployments, publishing articles or blogging on how to create a secure solution, etc.

Another example could be simply well-connected relationships with other Professionals. Things to achieve this capability could be joining some online communities, attending conferences/events regularly, etc.

Investing in Career Capabilities

As you move from one milestone to another, you should try to strive with the same 70/30 ratio of Opex/Capex. Spend 70% of your time on Capabilities needed to sustain your current Job Scope, and 30% to move on to the next Milestone. When you reach the Milestone, do the same. 70% of the time to sustain the new Job Scope, and 30% to the next. Repeat until you reach your goal.

In Conclusion…

What I have just described is a technique I am trying out currently. It is a more pro-active approach to reach your end goal, and takes care of both the present, near future, and ensure you keep the far future in mind in your plan. Portfolio Management has proven to be a success in both Financial and Business Management, and I do not see any reason why it cannot be apply to your Career as well.