Identify the “holes”in your targeted portfolio.Are there strategic
objectives that your current collection of documents will not help you
achieve? If so, what are the particular P.E.A.K.S. that you would need
to demonstrate to be able to achieve these objectives? Make a list of
these still-needed P.E.A.K.S.Step 9: Fill the Holes
Your mission in this step is to do the best you can, in the time you have,
to fill the holes you have identified in your targeted portfolio. Take a
look at your still-needed P.E.A.K.S. list from Step 8. Which of these
still-needed P.E.A.K.S. represent the most serious shortcomings in your
targeted portfolio? And of these “gaping hole”P.E.A.K.S., which repre-
sent ones you have already developed but don’t have documents for?
These are the areas you should be focusing on.
You simply don’t have time right now to develop new P.E.A.K.S.
But you can go after and create, if need be, documents that demonstrate
P.E.A.K.S. you have alreadydeveloped. In Chapter 8, we discuss activ-
ities you can pursue in the future to develop your not-yet-developed
P.E.A.K.S. But, again, there’s little time for that now.
Use your time wisely in this step. Go after the documents you real-
ly need that you can get or create in the time you have available to you.
To get the things you need may take a bit of extra effort on your
part. You have to be willing to contact people who can help you andbe
willing to do most of the work associated with your request.
If someone, for example, has sent you a letter of appreciation that
gives evidence of one of your important P.E.A.K.S. and you’ve thrown it
out or can’t find it, you may need to obtain a replacement. In most
cases, it is perfectly appropriate for you to ask the person who sent the
letter for help—particularly if this person still feels kindly disposed to-
ward you. You can explain why you need the letter and ask if the per-
son can send you another copy. Actually, this is a great opportunity to
get an even better letter of appreciation than the one you originally re-
ceived, if you are willing to do the work of drafting it the way you want
it. Simply explain to the person which of your P.E.A.K.S. you are trying
to verify with the letter and offer to write a draft for her review and sig-
nature.
If someone once complimented you for something you did that
demonstrated one of your still-needed P.E.A.K.S., even though he never
sent you a letter, you could explain why you need a letter now and offer
to draft it. Even if you didn’t receive any compliments at the time, you
can still ask a person who can verify what you did to “write”a letter
that you would draft for them.
If you are willing to make these requests and to do most of the
work yourself, you are likely to be pleasantly surprised by how quickly
you can get the testimonials you need. To make sure that you get these
documents in time to use them, it is helpful if you can make arrange-
ments to personally pick them up.
One word of caution:You must never, ever ask for and/or create a
document that is less than truthful. You won’t feel good about items inChapter 10: Portfolios on the Fly: Creating a Portfolio in a Few Hours 149