Opportunity Seeking

Having an open mind. Practice these opportunity spotting skills

Exploring everywhere…all the constantly for a set period of time.
Make some notes as you go along to
time. Action orientation.
remind yourself when you have
Questionning. practiced spotting opportunities,
regardless of whether you think you
“An enterprising person is one have found a new opportunity or not.
who comes across a pile of scrap At the end of this time, write up your
metal and sees the making of a experiences in the STAR format
(Situation, Task, Action, Result).
wonderful sculpture. An
enterprising person is one who
drives through an old decrepit part
of town and sees a new housing
development. An enterprising
person is one who sees
opportunity in all areas of life”
Creating Opportunity by Jim Rohn

There are opportunities everywhere; all

you need to do is get into the habit of
looking for them. As you go through
your daily routines – bus, train, work,
university, gym, pub, shops etc – think
a little deeper about what is around
you. Think about the products and
services you and your friends and family
encounter…

Ways to practice…

• Ask some of your family and friends

for their list of complaints about
university, accommodation, their
jobs, services they have been
unhappy with, products they cannot
find etc.
• Pick one or two you agree with and
try brainstorming with a friend or
mind mapping to generate some
ideas of how to address these issues.
• Write down everything you think of –
no matter how crazy it may first
appear – then review and refine. Taken from Leeds Met University’s Futures
series—Futures 7 Booklet.

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Opportunity Seeking
Skill: Opportunity Spotting

Situation
Describe the situation you were in.
What was the specific event or set of
circumstances in which you found
yourself?

Task
Describe the task you needed or
wanted to accomplish. What was your
strategic goal or mission, what did you
want to achieve?

Action
Describe the action(s) you took and
keep the focus on you and your
contribution even if it was a team
activity.

Result
What happened? What were the
outcomes – positive and negative?
What did you learn?

Taken from Leeds Met University’s Futures series—Futures 7 Booklet.

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