In a corporate world that is increasingly over-crowded, highly competitive and ever-changing, getting a promotion can indeed be a hassle.  But, through deliberate, well planned steps, and a willingness to take initiative, you can put yourself at the front of the line for a promotion.  

First things first: If you keep yourself sheltered away from the attention of your bosses, you will always miss the opportunity to climb up the corporate ladder.  A promotion typically means having more responsibility.

So you have to position yourself as a person that has the aptitude, value and capability to meet the requirements of a potential promotion.  

Develop career goals. You must be absolutely sure about where you want to go. Start maintaining a career journal where you write down your career goals. It’s important to make sure that the promotion is in alignment with both your credentials and personal goals. Develop long-term, medium-term and short-term goals that will keep you grounded towards a career upgrade. If you find it difficult to envision, consult a career coach to help you develop a clear perspective of what you want to do. A coach will help to expand your vision and push you to function at your peak.   

Do your current job well and more. If you want to make it to the top of the corporate ladder, do your current job well. Demonstrate honesty, empathy, trustworthiness and an ability to be a team player. See every challenge and responsibility as an opportunity to shine, and to sell yourself to your organization. Always review what you are currently doing and identify gaps that can allow you to do more. The surest way to get promoted is to do more and better than is expected of you. Show the value in yourself and create a demand for your abilities.   

Make a contribution. Start right away to contribute ideas and suggestions to improve processes, practices and profits of your company. To grant you a promotion, your company has to be satisfied with your value. Get all the facts about your ideas. Having more information will increase chances of your ideas and suggestions being accepted, and put you in favor to get promoted.

Keep a portfolio of your work. You must maintain a portfolio of work contributions that are directly connected to the position that you seek. Never make an assumption that your bosses know what you’re doing. Without being big-headed about it, let your organization know of your accomplishments. Gain visibility with your current job successes.  

Review job descriptions. Be clear about the additional responsibilities involved in the promotion as well as the salary level. In your career journal, keep job advertisements that underline the major duties or responsibilities of the job you want to promote in. Make a note of the qualities, attitudes and outputs required for that upward career opportunity. After you have identified these attributes, the next step is to put them into practice to prepare yourself for a promotion.  

Update your resume. Take time to review your current skills and accomplishments, including what you’ve learned in your current position. Update your resume so that it reveals your talents and hidden skills. Make sure your resume is specific to the potential career upgrade. Remember: Highlight unique qualifications and background. A well-written resume can significantly improve your chances to landing a promotion.  

Develop your skills. Identify areas that need improvement: don’t just focus on your strengths. In your career journal, make a note of areas of weakness and strive to improve in those areas that are critical to your promotion. In an ever-changing business environment, you must constantly update your skills to enhance your chances to get promoted.  Consult and learn from experts in your field. Find out what they did to succeed, what they would do different, and steps that you can take to improve your chances of a promotion.  

Take Courses in Your Field. Many companies require a potential candidate for promotion to have an advanced degree. Like it or not, having an advanced degree exponentially increases your chances to move to the front of the promotion line. Target unique qualifications. Read books, join a professional association, attend seminars and do courses that will build your knowledge, skills and abilities.  

Market yourself. Make full use of every opportunity to sell yourself. If you’ve got it, flaunt it and don’t wait quietly for someone to acknowledge you. Make sure that you demonstrate your ability to hold a higher position with flair and confidence. Also, show how your past achievements have contributed to the growth of the organization. When it comes down to the selection process, make sure to put your best foot forward, just like you did when you were first hired.    

Get networking right. If you want to fly like an eagle, then you have to stop taking lessons from chickens. Avoid co-workers and people that will pull you down through negative talk, and fill you with frustration over your desire to get a promotion. Associating with winners will fill you with a positive outlook on life and your career opportunities. Surround yourself with people that are success-oriented, and will encourage you to take the big leap forward towards a promotion.   

Make yourself outstanding. There’s no doubt that polish and presence are critical ingredients for a promotion. Be open to new inputs and ideas. Become an expert in your field. Write articles or a book. Develop a dress sense that shows you are headed for the top.  

Positioning yourself for a promotion at its most fundamental is an inside job. It’s a matter of finding what you want, and expressing that essence and character in everything you do.  

With hard work and an effective strategy, you can raise your stakes to get a promotion. 

So don’t let anything stop you.

The following ten trends identify the strategic challenges that every person, organization and nation will be dealing with in the future.

The Extreme Future, based on Dr. Canton’s new book, is an emerging era of complex new changes and challenges; many we have never had to deal with before. Also, the combination of trends, from energy to innovation and population, will challenge leaders in new ways.

Best to prepare today to meet the challenges of this Extreme Future.

1. Fueling the Future - The energy crisis, the costs, the post-oil future, and the future of energy alternatives like hydrogen, hybrids, and biofuels will be an essential factor into every business decision. The critical role that energy will play in every aspect of our lives in the 21st century will shape business and society.

2. The Innovation Economy - The central driver of future commerce will be innovation industries. Investing today in fast moving patents, innovations, ideas, like the Four Power Tools of the future: nano-bio-neuro-info, and products will shape competitive advantage.

3. Talent War - Talented people are the key to business success. There will be more jobs than skilled people to fill them. Companies will compete for the growing shortage of skilled people. More incentives to keep and recruit the best people will emerge.

4. Longevity Medicine - Health care is being transformed by biotech and genomics. People will be living longer, healthier and more productive lives. The human enhancement marketplace, offering new organs, new memories, new limbs, new skin and new lives, will translate into the largest market of the future—even immortality, for some, will be possible.

5. Weird Science - Always-On wireless Internet, teleportation, smart materials, space tourism—Weird new science will change every aspect of our lives, culture and economy, leading to new jobs, new products and new options. Nations and businesses that invest in future science will profit in economic growth.

6. Securing the Future - A new risk landscape is emerging from war, to hackers, to terrorists, to mind control, which will pose new challenges for individuals, governments and business. The personal security market will be lucrative.

7. The Future of Globalization - The new realities of more open global trade will offer both risk and opportunity in the near future. The rise of China and India; the clash of different cultures and ideas. Free trade, open markets and improved quality of life will define the 21st century.

8. The Future of Climate Change - The environment is changing and we need to prepare for increased global warming, pollution, and threats to biodiversity that will present new business opportunities. At the same time, the Clean Tech market will offer business a large financial opportunity to clean up the planet.

9. The Future of the Individual - The near future will provide opportunities for personal wealth creation that will underlie all other trends. Individual invention and innovation will accelerate business success. We will also see a struggle to balance individual freedom, privacy and security.

10. The Future of America and China - How the destiny of these two great nations - from capitalism to democracy, to innovation and security - will shape the future.