I have been lucky to have great mentors in my career. “You are your own CEO!” quipped one of them during a session and I had not approached my career that way until then! It makes a lot of sense looking at ourselves from the outside, treating us as a Product that needs to have a mission and vision aligned with our values, with a plan and roadmap on how we develop, market, sell and continuously improve ourselves. Questions like “why should anyone be interested in you as a professional Product?”, “what and how do you add value, now or in the future, to anyone or any group?”, “what/how do you showcase strengths and address weaknesses?” etc. must have easy answers.

Develop Skills

You as a Product should be desirable in the marketplace – perhaps in multiple markets. Show openness and flexibility to be repurposed in ways you had not considered. Stay current with the latest innovations and improvements in your areas of interest. A desire to continuously learn and grow is a must.

Build Brand Equity

Be a good team player, with a good work ethic and a burning desire to succeed. These are highly appreciated and often difficult to demonstrate and gauge. Having a few 5* reviews through your network is a must. It is also about looking at yourself from the eyes of someone who can help you get to where you want to be. Be open and deliberate about the people associated with you – and keep growing it. Spend time on sustaining and growing existing relationships and the network you’ve built.

Selling

As with any other Product, your reputation should precede you before meeting new people as you build relationships. Your next level of engagements are more about discussing ideas and personality fits than about your abilities, attitude and skills.

Pricing

Know your value, do your research. If you are pricing yourself above market, have clarity about why you deserve to charge a premium. As you build skills, know their worth in the marketplace.

Housekeeping

Keeping your resources working well together and optimally is critical. Take care of your mental and physical health, you are only as good as your resources. Not all employees are superstars, they just need to work well together as a team. Exercise, have fun and take breaks and stay focused when needed. I would also add that as a human Product, be kind to yourself – we all have way more strengths that value if you bring the right attitude.

This story from Hari Vijay, Senior Director Karsun Innovation Center Lean Practice, first appeared on LinkedIn.

Herndon, VA, USA (12 April 2022)— Karsun Solutions announced today that it was once again appraised at CMMI Level 5 for Development. Karsun is one of the first 25 companies in the U.S. to receive this distinction under the updated V2.0 (CMMI-DEV) appraisal model. to hold this distinction for quality and procedures in development.  The appraisal was performed by Maverick Quality Advisory Services (MQAS).

CMMI is a proven, outcome-based performance model and the globally accepted standard for improving capability, optimizing business performance and aligning operations to business goals.

An appraisal at Maturity Level 5 indicates that the organization is performing at an “optimizing” level. At this level, an organization continually improves its processes based on a quantitative understanding of its business objectives and performance needs. The organization uses a quantitative approach to understand the variation inherent in the process and the causes of process outcomes.

GoLean® forms the foundation of the quantitative methodology used by the Karsun Solutions modern software development practice. It combines data-driven insights with modern software development and DevSecOps principles in a proprietary platform. Developed by its in-house Innovation Center, the platform is designed for software development, delivery and orchestration. The CI/CD pipelines can be configured and integrated with existing tools and on multiple cloud platforms. It also allows for each implementation to be optimized based on customer needs and constraints.

“This is a proud moment for Karsun to be one of the select companies rated at Level 5 in the federal marketplace,” said Badri Sriraman, Senior Vice President, Karsun Innovation Center. “We are proud of our teams as they raise the bar for delivery excellence once again.”

“Organizations worldwide are harnessing CMMI to elevate their business performance to new heights, creating a sustainable competitive advantage in the process,” says Ron Lear, Senior Director, CMMI Program. “We commend Karsun Solutions on achieving this CMMI appraisal level and demonstrating their ability as a high-performing organization.”

For more information about CMMI performance solutions, visit www.isaca.org/enterprise/cmmi-performance-solutions.

About Karsun Solutions

Karsun Solutions is a fast-growing, innovative enterprise modernization firm. Recently awarded Best Company Culture by Comparably.com, its teams deliver modern software development, cloud, and data solutions to customers at government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration and General Services Administration. Leveraging GoLean, Karsun teams drive digital transformation and help its government customers Do Extraordinary. Learn more at Karsun-LLC.com.

Media Contact: marketing@karsun-llc.com