Intel, like all companies that manage their human capital well, initiates a PDP (Personal Development Plan) for their employees, annually. The PDP states the employee’s personal goals for the year and how they are to be achieved, and, in addition, how the company will help with this, in terms of training, courses and other development programs.

Whether or not you work for Intel, every reader needs his or her own PDP. It is absolutely VDI (Very Damned Important). Recently, I have been asking my students to write such a PDP, stating first their own personal dream or passion, and then their PDP for achieving it, developing the skills, talents, allies and resources necessary to attain their dream.

Some students have a clear ‘road map’ in their mind. Others have only a vague idea, and writing the PDP clarifies it. Others have never even allowed themselves to pose the question, What is my dream? Whatever the case, the PDP is vital. And of course, it is subject to change, as we move along the paths of the roadmap, learn and grow. 

So, here are the two key questions that comprise the PDP.

* State clearly your personal life’s dream or passion. How will you change the world?

* What will it take in terms of personal skills, competencies, resources and teammates to achieve your dream?

* What is the roadmap (the step-by-step procedures) that will get you from here, where you are now,  to there (where you dream you will be one day)?

Nietzsche once said, “Become yourself.” Reading that, I wondered for years, what does he mean? 

Today, I know. He means, dream, search for your dream, search for ways to make it come true, and in doing so, truly find out who you are and what you want.

This is how we can use our PDP, which is VDI, to truly become ourselves.