For some of us, our professional-development plans are littered with good intentions and valiant resolutions, and I often feel like a failure that I did not accomplish what I wanted to do. At a recent graduation speech, Ariana Huffington told the 900 students receiving master’s degrees from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at New York University that one should not feel bad about failures or disappointments. She said they are just important steps on the road to success. So consider trying some of the following ideas and give yourself a chance to see what happens.

A – Activities
As teachers, many of us are always busy during the year with a wide range of activities, most of them focused around teaching or students or committee work, or community work. However, some of us want to engage in certain activities that we never get around to. Taking some time during the summer to cook your way through those recipes of ingredient profiles, to revise your PowerPoint slides, to download and organize all your pictures so that you can use them, to clean out some file drawers at home, to research an area—sustainability, social networking, new restaurant themes or farm to table—to spend a week at a colleague’s restaurant or write restaurant reviews of local restaurants. Any of these activities and others that are more important to you—these may just prompt your thinking—will bring new energy to your development and expand the possibilities.

A different way to think about your professional deployment involves reading, either with books, your Kindle or your Nook.

B – Books
One of the treats for some of us during the summer months is reading—whether new books, for courses, books that we have wanted to read but never had the time, or books that we bought but forgot to read. There are probably lots of books or articles you want to read. If not, consider some of the following suggestions for creating a list.

One way to build a list is to ask a number of your colleagues about books that have made an impact on them and create a list from their recommendations. Another way is to use lists put together by others. One summer, I discovered the list of 100 best books put together by James Michener and read a number of them that I had always heard about but never read. Maybe there are lists you want to consider. A third way is to let your fingers walk through your bookshelves or stacks of books—the ones you bought to but never read—and pull them out and move them to the top of the pile or line them up somewhere in your house so that you work through them this summer. A fourth way is to review the Sunday New York Times best-seller list or another large metropolitan paper near where you live. Any of these options can provide a number of suggestions and good ideas for you to consider.

A second step involves developing time tables. For some of us, summer is a time to enjoy the difference of fewer deadlines and a schedule that is not so tightly packed, and the thought of making a schedule for reading is anathema. For others, making a list of the eight (or 12) books to read during the summer can be a great incentive and motivating force. And one book a week can be a very attainable goal.

Another way to think about your professional development involves two kinds of conferences.

C – Conferences
Attending conferences gives you a chance to meet new colleagues, network with familiar colleagues, pick up some new ideas, watch or hear about some new teaching materials and broaden your horizons by visiting a different city than you have been to or a different hotel or culinary school. ACF, I-CHRIE and CAFÉ have been doing excellent summer conferences for years, and CAFÉ now hosts a Leadership Conference this summer a whole day dedicated to best practices in education. Consider attending all or one of these conferences.

There is another type of conference—the two-person conference—to consider, as well. Meet a colleague or friend for lunch and use that time to share new ideas, ask for new opinions about what you do, or just talk about industry or world developments. Or decide on a new person who you would like to get to know better and from whom you could learn something; then set up a meal, a time to chat or a situation where you will be together with some time to talk. I encourage you to determine which individuals you would like to talk with and then set up a conference meeting with that person and make it happen. It is a way to make your own conferences this summer.

A new personal or professional friend can open your eyes and ears to a new situation and a new set of ideas; just getting to know a new friend can be a development experience.

Summary
Thank you for reading this column about facilitating your own professional development. Next month, we will discuss the D, E and F of professional development. If you have comments about your professional development, send them to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I will include them in future Mayo’s Clinics. I may even use them in the presentation on professional Development at the Café Leadership Conference June 23, 2011.

Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT, is a clinical professor at New York University and a frequent presenter at CAFÉ events nationwide.