A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a certain objective. A personal career strategy helps one set out what needs to be done in order to achieve their career goals in the future. A few weeks ago I had no idea what direction to go in, with regards to my career – however, the scenario analysis exercise forced me to think realistically about my future, which before that had not been done in such a manner. The scenario analysis exercise really helped me put my future into perspective, and helped me learn a bit more about myself, my characteristics and personality traits.

I also learnt a lot about myself when I completed the “Learning Styles” questionnaire, where I found out my style to be that of the assimilator. The description of this style is exactly how I’d describe my learning style – analytical, logical, precise and cool. This was a really interesting and fulfilling exercise that shed some light on my particular learning style and helped me understand how my brain works with regard to studying information. It’s really refreshing to be enrolled in a subject that “forces” you reflect on your own life.

Most subjects in this degree are filled with calculators and theory, that although interesting, only stimulate the right side of the brain. Business Strategy stimulates the left hand side of the brain too, which in my eyes is essential! I feel like this subject is very relevant – content and timing wise. In the content sense, business strategy is learning about learning about yourself, (what could be better? ), which is fundamental to moving forward – we have to know where we want to go so that we can work out how to get there (strategic thinking and strategic steps will get us where we need to be! . In the timing sense, I feel like this subject has arrived at the perfect time – at the end of the past few years of studying, where most information learnt thus far has been perceived as irrelevant by most students, now essentially everything learnt is brought together, and actually relates to our current lives, as we start looking for jobs and thinking seriously about why we are here (studying business science) and where we’d like to go. My personal strategy to succeed in life, is to: Explore: I plan on exploring all the options and opportunities available to me, whether they be creative or academically orientated. •Investigate: I plan on investigating these opportunities in order to determine which ones will benefit me the most, and try pursue the most beneficial alternatives. •Study: I will graduate with a business science finance degree, which will help me in whatever career path I choose in the future. I may decide to further my studies if an opportunity arises that may require further studies. Research: I plan on researching all topics that may benefit myself or my career in any way •Think: I must think for myself, think strategically, think out of the box, think in terms of the long-run, think positively and think for myself. •Experience: I plan on experiencing all things that life has to offer in order to find my niche. •Always try my hardest in whatever it is that I choose to do in order to succeed. •Push boundaries: bring something new to the table so that I stand out from the crowd. Stimulate my right brain and therefore my creativity: this is a necessity and definitely strategic for my happiness and career alike. •Live my life to the fullest: I want to love whatever it is that I choose to do. If you don’t love what you do, then you’ll end up being half-hearted about it. I want to be passionate about what I do. Having a business science degree will help me tremendously in the ‘real’ world – I’ve learnt the fundamentals of economics, accounts and finance, which each teach you various facts, methods of calculation and information relating to the subject.

Business strategy however, for me so far, hasn’t been about learning facts, but about learning to think in a certain way – strategically. The only way to ever achieve desires (whether they be personal goals, career objectives etc) is to take positive steps that’ll ultimately lead to goals. This course has taught me to think in a certain way and together with my past subjects, given me a solid knowledge base of business operations, that, together with my personality and ability to take risks, are essential qualities needed to succeed as an entrepreneur.