Successful organizations embark upon their own process of due diligence when evaluating prospective partners, hitting the accelerator or the brakes on a merger or acquisition or when renewing their corporate value proposition in the midst of dynamic market forces. We would be surprised to expect anything different. Some companies are better than others at the art and practice of due diligence, nonetheless a substantial, serious effort is made when a significant choice is under consideration.

In today’s workplace, the traditional loyalty-security pact between employers and employees is a thing of the past, and deeds do not speak for themselves. ‘Delivered value’ is the only currency which buys a measure of security and professional satisfaction. In this environment, each one of us is a virtual personal corporation, a walking service offering.

If individual professionals are to be a successful corporation in this new marketplace, they need to practice their own version of due diligence, personal due diligence. This calls upon them to assess opportunities, gauge risks and identify the linkages between their unique offering and their target market’s needs.

Individuals who are engaging the 21st century workplace as virtually self-employed ‘value deliverers’ recognize the importance of personal due diligence. They have embraced its practice in managing their careers or shall we say managing their approach to professional service delivery.

Underlying their personal approach to due diligence is:
• a desire to have their career (professional service) decisions be as informed as possible
• a belief that a conscientious due diligence effort will serve their short and long term interests, helping them to intelligently manage risks and seize opportunities which energize them

• a shift to a position of personal empowerment as they take the reins of their own destiny, driven by the values they hold dear and a conscious decision to play offence
• a plan for looking inward to raise their awareness of their distinctive service offering and for thoughtfully identifying and engaging their prospective employers (client-partners)
• a way to discover where and how their talents can be used, contributing to their chosen organization’s long term success.

For those who choose to invest in themselves and their futures through the practice of personal due diligence, change can be an ally, not a foe.