Professional Development Plan Outline: After identifying your purpose for getting the MBA and some long-term goals to shoot for, you will need a plan for developing the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to accomplish your goals. The Professional Development Plan will provide focus for your MBA studies, along with the mental frameworks for mastering the functional areas that align with your aspirations.

1. Write a purpose statement. ? What is the purpose of the plan? What do you hope to accomplish by carrying out the plan? ? Describe why the professional development plan is important.

2. Conduct a personal SWOT analysis. 9 ? Consider using a graphic to display your personal SWOT. ? List your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. ? Consider the three primary areas of your life: i. Spiritual ii. Mental/Emotional iii. Physical

3. Identify a specific area of business that you want to specialize in.

4. Identify the five most important skills you will need to develop to become a master in your area of specialty. ? The skills should be validated by at least three credible sources. ? Prioritize the list of skills

5. Gather information on how to develop the top three skills. ? Consider the education, certifications or experiences that are required. ? Who should you contact to get more information? ? Are there professional communities that can help you along the way?

6. Select one long-term goal (5 or more years) in each of the following areas: ? Spiritual ? Physical ? Mental/Emotional ? Make sure each goal is specific and actionable. Provide the “why” for each goal.

7. Set clear and actionable goals to help you master the skills. ? Identify several intermediary steps between where you are now and where you want to be in the future. ? Set deadlines for each goal.

1. Length of the paper – 5-6 pages (not including the title page or reference page).  This length has been reduced because of the delayed submission of the Tesla Case Study and the challenges associated with the storm in TX, LA, MS, and other southern states.

2. There should be at least 1 reference to a course text, 2 references to academic journal articles, and at least 2 integrations of the Christian worldview (quoted scripture with several sentences integrating the biblical concepts with main ideas in the paper).

3. APA formatted using the Belhaven Quick guide as a reference. This includes an APA title page, an APA References page, and APA in-text citations.

4. Because of the nature of this paper, personal pronouns are acceptable but should not be the norm for academic writing. Avoid phrases like – “It is my opinion that…” or “I believe…”. Because you are the author of the paper, these phrases are implied so they should be avoided in the paper.