ABSTRACT
Just as industry purposefully and systematically develops a product, one can consciously control, and therefore purposefully and systematically develop a career. Many people make what seem to be well-thought-out, immediate career decisions with the assumption that making the right choice at that time will naturally lead to the next step, another weighty decision to make when the time comes. If one commits to manufacturing a 5-star career, they must view themselves as the manufacturer who is 100% responsible for the quality of the career. This is one of the most difficult concepts to embrace. The science of quality management has proven repeatedly over the last 100 years that believing in and valuing quality does not make quality happen. Quality must be designed into the system that generates the product and then purposefully managed. Ignoring this fact, being too busy to do it, or pushing the associated actions to the bottom of the priority list incurs a cost down the road.
