OGL 482 Pro-Seminar II

Unit 3 Assignment:
Career Plan Template
Section 1: Creating your BHAG
Following the information in the “Good to Great Connections” PowerPoint presentation and all
of the additional information provided under the content area, and taking your Personal Mission
Statement development efforts into consideration, carefully develop your own personal long-
term BHAG (***one amazingly HUGE, your world-changing goal***). The timeframe for your
BHAG is 10-25 years out, however, it will depend upon your age. For example, a 55-year-old
person might be closer to the 10-year BHAG, whereas a 30-year-old or younger person should be
considering a BHAG 25 years out. This BHAG may be related to your overall life/lifestyle
aspirations, or it could be related to some organizational, protean, or entrepreneurial vision you
have for the future. Dig deep and go beyond the job. That is up to you. What it needs to be is
BIG! HUGE! REALLY HAIRY! STRETCH YOURSELF! LOOK BEYOND A GRADUATE
DEGREE! LOOK BEYOND A JOB! HOW WILL YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS
WORLD?

Answer the following:

1) What is your BHAG (***one amazingly HUGE, your world-changing goal***)? THIS
SHOULD NOT BE A JOB BUT YOUR MISSION IN LIFE!

My BHAG would open my own non-profit animal rescue league or organization. I have
had the opportunity to work for many different animal rescue organizations. My goal in
life is to run and operate my own. I have a vision and I have many plans of what I would
do and how I would operate it. What is stopping me from this is funding and building a
business from the ground up. Although I am a leader, certain company aspects and things
were already put in place/motion. For example, I never have had to build payroll, or
purchase/lease a building, or come up with a logo trademark, computer software system,
operating system. etc. My leadership has always had everything put in place and I was
put there to onboard candidates and ensure smooth sailing. I have never had to pay for
things out of my own expense, it has always been at the company’s expense. I would be
starting from nothing and that is very scary for me as well as an enormous risk.

2) Why is this your BHAG?

I have always known I would work with animals from a very young age. In my third-
grade yearbook I wrote in the “What do you want to be when you grow up?” section, that

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 I wanted to work in a pet store. I was always bringing home injured/sick animals from a
very young age. I brought home birds, kittens, squirrels, anything I could find that needed
help. My parents never understood it because they were not big animal lovers. I wished
and begged for a puppy or kitten every year for my birthday, I wrote to Santa, I wrote to
the Easter bunny, anytime I could dream or with for something I asked for a puppy or
kitten. Finally, when I graduated elementary school, my parents broke down and got me a
puppy after many years of begging. That dog became my shadow and my best friend. I
grew up in a very dysfunctional home. My parents were always yelling, screaming,
fighting, arguing, and took it out on their children. I have been burned and ridiculed by
my parents my entire life, but I always took comfort in my dog. Anytime my parents
fought or yelled the dog would come lay with me and I would cry, and the dog was
comforting. I knew from a very young age that an animal would never burn me, and I
knew I had to be the person to help them, since they helped me.

3) How does your BHAG align with your vision statement from Unit 2

My Vision Statement from Unit Two included in my Thematic Analysis “I will achieve my goal
of becoming a full-time professor teaching Veterinary Technicians and continue to help animals
in my professional and personal life.”

My goal after finishing my journey with Arizona State University is to become a full time
Veterinary Technician instructor at the college I graduated from. I currently work their part time.
The teaching union requires that full time instructors have a Bachelor’s degree with a certain
accreditation. Hence why I am with Arizona State University. This is a short-term goal, not a Big
Hairy Audacious Goal. While becoming a full-time college instructor for a technical school is a
huge accomplishment. It does not take as much grit, sacrifice, and guts as it would be building an
entire successful organization from nothing. I am proud of the goals that I have achieved in my
career, but I want to make a larger impact on animal welfare and client education.

4) How does your BHAG align with your mission statement from Unit 2?

My Mission Statement from Unit Two included in my Thematic Analysis, “I am fully

dedicated and committed to the welfare of animals. I will practice at the top of my license
and do what I can to help voiceless pets. I will stand up for what I believe in and do what I
feel is best for a pet.”

My mission statement from Unit Two certainly does fit with my Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
Helping animals and educating people on the importance of proper veterinary care is a huge
priority of mine. I am surrounded by ensuring proper care for animals and ensuring that
people know how to properly take care of their animals. I work in a veterinary hospital, I
work with a plethora of different rescue leagues and organizations, I always have a foster
animal in my home, I work part time grooming dogs, and I work part time at a technical
school teaching students in classes including Animal Health Careers, and Clinical Pathology
Laboratory. I could not be happier that my mission statement and my BHAG align.

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 5) List your top five (5) obstacles in order from number 5 being least difficult and
number 1 being the most difficult you need to overcome in order to obtain your
BHAG and explain the relevance of each one.

Funding – The most difficult item to overcome in owning/operating my own rescue

organization would be funding. Obviously, this is going to take time, money, and energy
to open a rescue organization. You also must consider the cost of veterinary care. The
animals are going to need medical care. These animals are going to be abuse/neglect
cases and need a lot of medical veterinary care and attention. This I think will be the
biggest obstacle to overcome. I would assume that more of the animals’ medical expenses
will cost more than the adoption fee. I would have to have an excellent investor or group
of investors to back me up. I know that a low of sweat equity will go into this, but I can’t
unfortunately care for these animals without having a veterinarian on staff as well as
potential veterinary specialists on board, depending on animal needs/care.

Real-estate – The second most challenging item would be Real-estate. I would have to
have a building obviously to house/care for these animals. Whether that is owning a
property or renting we will need a building. And the building will need to have a
reception desk, exam rooms, surgical suite, isolation ward, dog kennel, feline kennel, an
outdoor area for the animals to have exercise and to go potty, laundry room, stock room,
there are a lot of areas I would need to operate a rescue. I would also need this piece of
real-estate to be far enough away from a community or neighborhood where noise from
barking wouldn’t affect the community. I can’t just purchase any building; a lot of
strategic planning will need to be put into place.

Social Media Outreach/Advertising – My third most challenging item would be social

media outreach/advertising. A lot of things I can do being a veterinary professional. One
thing that I am extremely poor at is technology. I am not a social media influencer; I
barely understand how technology works and I do not know how to grab people’s
attention other than horrifying them with abuse/neglect images to get donations. I would
need to hire a social media person which would be difficult. I would obviously want to
spend as much money I can on the well-being of animals. However, I understand paying
someone who is an excellent social media outreach/advertising will benefit the
organization as far as outreach, recognition, donations, etc. I also would have a difficult
time hiring/onboarding someone suited for this position because it is uncharted territory
for me. So how do you hire someone to do a job that you don’t necessarily care for or
understand. I would need multiple people to help me hire for this position.

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 Fosters/Volunteers – The fourth most challenging item would be obtaining fosters and
volunteers. Being that this will be a non-profit organization, I will heavily rely on foster
parents and volunteers to help run this organization. I would have to find like-minded
people who have a passion for animals as well as developing a plan for volunteers. I
would love to pair with local judges and instill a community service program, I would
love to pair with local jail/prisons for community service, local schools for educational
summer camp programs, etc. But getting that in motion will take time, networking, and a
lot of connections. I know I will have the local community foster but I want more. I want
to have the human/animal bond.

Community Outreach/Awareness – The fifth most challenging item would be the

blessing from the community. I obviously would need the community on my side to open
this organization in their town or city. I will heavily rely on fosters and volunteers and
would not want to irritate the community I chose to form this organization in. I know that
not everyone is an animal lover, and I won’t be able to make everyone happy and not
everyone will want a rescue league in their town. But I will need help from the
community as far as donations or donating their time. For example, if we need something
repaired, I will want to reach out to the community for help before I pay for a handyman.
I will need a strong community connection to bring awareness and outreach for these
animals. I also would hope the animals that are adopted will be part of the community we
are in.

Section 2: Career Vision

Consider your long-term vision for your career. Respond to the following questions, and make
connections to your personal mission statement, your BHAG(s), the themes you developed in
Unit 2 and the textbook/supplemental readings (as applicable).

Answer the following:

1) Analyze the type of career you want to have, in terms of an organizational career or
a protean career, and make sure it is clear you understand the concepts as outlined
in the textbook. Why?

My ultimate goal is to run and operate a protean organization. I strongly believe in

investing in your team. I like to give my team a sense of belonging and wholeness. I do
not want to be an authoritarian leader; I prefer to be a democratic leader. Some of the best
ideas as a manager I have received were from my own team. I love to network and focus
on investing in to current staff versus onboard and hire new staff for promotions and
things of that nature. I want to be more of a mentor than just a boss. I am very open and

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 hope to have a team feel comfortable and confident in what they do. At first, I know I
will be putting in a lot of sweat equity and hope to let people take the reins and take and
run with the organization. That is really where I see the organization flourish when each
team member feels empowered and feels a sense of wholeness and belonging.

2) Analyze your career with an explanation as one that moves you up the organization
or one you develop seeking alternative career paths. If you see yourself taking an
alternative career path, which one(s) sounds the most likely? Why?

My main BHAG is to run open, run, and operate a non-profit rescue league organization.
That would be my ultimate dream in life. However, if I were to take a different career
path it would be becoming the director of the Veterinary Technician program that I
currently work for part time as adjunct faculty instructor. The current director of the
program is the one who motivated me to return to school because she has high hopes of
hiring me full time. I would be the only other full-time instructor other than herself. She
was also transparent that ultimately that was not her decision to make and that it would be
the college’s decision to hire me full time. She really believes in me. The college is
planning on starting a separate Veterinary Assistant program and she wants me to lead
the charge. She has also made several comments hoping that I one day will want to
become the director when it comes time for her to retire. It does require a masters degree.
I would have to go back to school again. (No offense but I loathe being a student). It
would have to take a lot of heavy convincing for me to get a masters degree. I would
rather not spend my life paying off student loan debt. Id much rather be on a beach being
irresponsible listening to Jimmy Buffett with a cocktail in hand. If I had to pick and
choose going on vacation and getting a master’s degree, I’m going to pick the vacation
every single time. My brother died at 32 years old and everything he accomplished was
for nothing. I used to have bigger aspirations but after his passing, I have since switched
gears on what I thought was important and getting a masters degree is not one of those
items. I’d rather die experiencing the joy of life, than hate my life going through school
like I currently do right this very moment. No offense to you, but I hate being a student.
I’d rather have a tooth pulled with zero pain management. I have a made case of
senioritis after two years of nonstop schooling and I need a vacation.

3) Discuss and explain if you see yourself working an alternative or flexible work
schedule/arrangement? If so, which ones and why?

I have only ever worked an alternative work schedule with every single job I have had
since I was sixteen years old. I also have never had the luxury of working remotely or
from home. I would love the opportunity to work a flexible schedule but that is
something that is hard for me to see happening. I work 12-hour shifts at the hospital right
now and have been doing that for 10+ years so I don’t know how people only work 8-
hour shifts. In an ideal world I would love a flexible schedule, but I don’t see that

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 possibility in the field of work I am in. You can’t turn down an emergency because
you’re tired of working or you want to whine about missing lunch or going home late. In
the veterinary field you are coming in early, leaving late, missing lunch, and being called
in on your days off. Unfortunately, there is a veterinary shortage which trickles down to
the credentialed veterinary technicians to practice at the top of their license. And when
you work in the veterinary field you are a sucker for these animals.

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Section 3: Long-Term Strategy
Develop a strategy for moving toward your ideal future work/life situation and the realization of
your BHAG(s). Consider the timeframe for your BHAG(s). Provide a vivid description of life
“the way it will be” once your BHAG is realized.

1) Critically think about and then list out (not a narrative format) the interim steps or
milestones you have laid out for yourself that will aid you in reaching your BHAG
(you should have at least 10 to earn a rating of excellent and be referenced by time)

 Obtaining my Bachelor’s degree (May 2024)

 Networking and Connections (May 2024 – May 2025)
 Learning local laws/regulations (May 2024-May 2025)
 Fundraising/Grants (May 2025-Lifelong commitment to raising funds)
 Designing a board and electing board members (January 2026)
 Obtaining 501c3 status (February – April 2026)
 Community Outreach (April 2026 – Lifelong commitment of community
outreach)
 Development of budget and timeline (April 2026- June 2026)
 Connect with local law enforcement and animal control to establish connection
(May 2026)
 Real- Estate Purchase (June 2026 – August 2026)
 Organize Volunteer/Foster Base (June 2026 – September 2026)
 Onboard/Hire Veterinarian, Kennel Assistant, Veterinary Technician, Veterinary
Assistant, Social Media influencer and Rescue Manager (July 2026 – October
2026)
 Meet with local judges/prosecutors/schools/community service/(July 2026 –
November 2026)
 Send out surveys to Fosters/Volunteers to see what they expect from the
organization. (July 2026- November 2026)
 Pair with local veterinary supply chains and make connections and obtain all
discounts on vaccines, foods, toys, etc. July 2026 – November 2026)
 Rescue Animals (Aim to open before the cold November 2026 – Forever)

2) In addition to career-related roles, consider your other life roles in relation to your
career goals. What are the 3 most precious things you are willing to sacrifice,
besides time, to achieve your BHAG? Why?

My first precious sacrifice to obtain my BHAG would be to leave my current hospital. I have
been working at the same veterinary hospital for over 10 years and have developed a loyal
following. I work for a corporation that has a chain of hospitals in many locations and some
of my clients have followed me from city to city for over ten years. I have watched them

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 come in on day one with a brand-new puppy and now here we are ten years later where I am
helping them say goodbye to their precious pets and assisting in their pet’s euthanasia. It will
be devastating and heart breaking to say goodbye to the clients who have been with me
throughout my entire journey in the veterinary hospital. I would not be able to manage
working in both the vet hospital and running my own rescue league. I also have a non-
compete clause to consider and must work within so many miles of the hospital I work in.

My second precious sacrifice to obtain my BHAG would be my money. Obviously, I am

paid for the many jobs I have. I currently work three jobs and get paid for all three of
them. I will be sacrificing my paycheck for the greater good of animals. I am very
fortunate to have a supportive husband who can make ends meet with his paycheck. But
we will not have the fun spending money, my retirement fund won’t really be contributed
to, I will lose benefits and insurance. But financially if something were to ever happen to
my husband’s career or to him for that matter, I would essentially be in financial
hardship. I don’t anticipate getting a very big check running and operating a rescue
organization. I will want to pour profits back into the organization. I of course will take a
paycheck, but I will not have as much money as I do now.

My third precious sacrifice to obtain my BHAG would be my home. I am a current foster

parent for various rescue organizations but having my own I am sure I will have more
than one foster at a time. These animals come from various abuse, abandonment,
neglectful homes, and some of them have destructive manners that are not the fault of the
animal. For example, animals with separation anxiety will be destructive and have been
known to chew through dry wall. Not all animals were potty trained and will have
accidents in the home. I bought the house of my dreams four years ago. It is a beautiful
home and I know over time it will become destroyed by the animals that will be
temporarily living here.

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Section 4: The one to two year plan
Using a SMART goals-based approach, as well as project planning and management skill best
practices, create a detailed project plan for at least two specific goals. At least one must be
related to your long-term BHAG. The other may be related to some other aspect of your career
development or career-life integration. Both of these goals need to be things that you are
passionate about accomplishing.
Your selected goals and SMART plan (see SMART goal information provided in the unit)
should be structured based on a one to two-year timeline. It should include specific milestones,
action items, sub-tasks as well as task-related interdependencies as applicable. With respect to
each goal, critically think about what specific things you will do in the next one to two years to
achieve these goals.

Develop a clear and detailed SMART plan, with facilitating goals and steps/actions required
to accomplish your selected goals. It should be evident, by looking at the format and structure
of your plan, that you have developed some significant skills respect to project management.
Include Gantt charts (T) or other visual project representations as you see fit, and be sure to
address your approach to tracking/measuring your progress (M).

1) What is your #1 Goal? (at least one of the following must be related to your BHAG)

Currently my number one goal is to obtain my bachelor's degree. I have been working very
hard to obtain my bachelor's degree over the course of two years. I have been a full-time
student every semester for two years. I have sacrificed a lot to obtain this degree. I even did
session A and B through the summertime. I can’t wait to have more time and freedom to
myself and not be a slave to ASU. In my field of work an Associate’s degree is a
requirement. However, in order to teach full time, you need to have a bachelors degree. That
is the college’s decision, not a requirement to work in the field.

(Insert your #1 Goal above and provide short answers below describing your goal in
terms of the SMART model. Finally, provide a Gantt chart using the tools provided).

a. Specific – Graduate with honors with Arizona State University in the Spring of
2024. (Last semester for me personally, ends in February 2024)

b. Measurable – Continue to pair with my success coach weekly. Continue to pair

with the admissions department every semester to ensure I am on track to
graduate in the Spring of 2024. (May 2024) Deadline to apply to graduate is
February 15th, 2024.

c. Attainable – Apply for graduation before the deadline of February 15th without
getting a late fee. (I was unaware that I had to pay to graduate, that was news to
me)

d. Relevant – Graduating means I have the means to apply for a full-time position at
my workplace. When my physical degree comes in the mail (Which I believe is
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 May/June2024), I can upload the documents and apply for a full-time position
with a salary increase.

e. Time-Based- Graduate Spring of 2024 with ASU

8/12/2023 10/1/2023 11/20/2023 1/9/2024 2/28/2024 4/18/2024 6/7/2024 7/27/2024 9/15/2024 11/4/2024 12/24/2024

Graduate with honors Feb 1

Pair with success coach Feb 7

Apply for Graduation Feb 1

Apply for full time position at workplace Jun 1

2) What is your #2 Goal? (at least one of these must be related to your BHAG)

My second goal would be to be hired as a fulltime faculty member at the community college
that I currently work with. That is the only reason why I chose to go back to school for a
bachelor's degree. I essentially want to leave working in the veterinary hospital and grooming
salon and put my focus on teaching full time. Due to the teaching union, and the
requirements of the college I can teach part time with my associates degree. It is required to
have a bachelors to teach full time. It really does not make sense to me why that is put in
place. I am already teaching hands on classes two days a week. I don’t understand why a
bachelor's degree is what separates me from being part time versus full time. But I made this
sacrifice of my life for two years so that I could obtain that goal.

(Insert your #2 Goal above and provide short answers below describing your goal in
terms of the SMART model. Finally, provide a Gantt chart using the tools provided).

a. S – Obtain physical copy of bachelor's degree from ASU. (May/June 2024)

b. M- Pair with the admissions/human resource department of Macomb Community

College to find out when requisition will open for part time faculty to apply to
become full time faculty. (June 2024)

c. A- Once a physical copy of bachelor's degree is obtained from ASU. Apply for
full time position with Macomb Community College with supporting
documentation of obtaining degree (July 2024)

d. R- Onboarded as full-time faculty by the time the Fall semester starts in August
2024

e. T- Full time faculty for the Fall 2024 Semester (August/September 2024)

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 10/1/2023 1/9/2024 4/18/2024 7/27/2024 11/4/2024

Pair with admissions and human resources for full time position availability Feb 7

Obtain physical Bachelor's degree May 1

Apply for full time position at workplace Jul 15

Onboard to full time position Aug 10

Gnatts Chart for Entire Organization Goal

9/22/2017 6/18/2020 3/15/2023 12/9/2025 9/4/2028

Obtaining my Bachelor’s degree May 1
May 7
Learning local laws/regulations May 22
May 10
Designing a board and electing board members Jan 7
Feb 14
Community Outreach Apr 21
Connect with local law enforcement and animal control to establish Apr 27
connection May 5
Jun 12
Organize Volunteer/Foster Base Jun 20
Jul 1
Meet with local judges/prosecutors/schools/community service Jul 15
Jul 15
Rescue Animals Nov 1

References

 Harrington, B. & Hall, D.T. (2007). Career management and work-life integration:
Using self-assessment to navigate contemporary careers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc

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  Adams, C., & CB Carl Binder.
(2018, August 14). Find the root cause, not just the Symptom: ATD. Main.
https://www.td.org/insights/find-the-root-cause-not-just-the-symptom

 Bhag – big hairy audacious goal. Jim Collins - Articles - BHAG. (n.d.).
https://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/BHAG.html

 Kate Eby | January 9. (n.d.-b). The Essential Guide to writing smart

goals. Smartsheet. https://www.smartsheet.com/blog/essential-guide-writing-smart-goals

 2 crazy-fast ways to make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint. Nuts & Bolts Speed Training.
(2023, December 8). https://nutsandboltsspeedtraining.com/powerpoint-tutorials/how-to-
make-a-gantt-chart-in-powerpoint/

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