If you are in a position that is in one of the careers that you can grow in, such as a marketing position, and you can work your way up to a marketing manager or field office manager or even higher, then you will need to make decisions and take actions that will advance this career. The same is true in a college or school environment where a professor might go from untenured to tenured and may go from being an assistant professor to a full professor to department head. This type of progression is something that happens in most large businesses. Generally a smaller family owned business won't have quite the same career path because family members are generally on that upward mobile ladder. However, if one of these companies is sold as a public company, a long term employee might just be called on to continue to manage that business.
However, in most circumstances you may be employed in a company that offers growth potential in one of the fields where you might expect for careers to be developed over time. All of this involves annual performance reviews and pay raises. Many larger companies have a career posting mechanism in place where employees can view upcoming positions and then, if they are qualified, they can post for one of those positions. Then there is the interview process and a decision is made. Many times these positions will be in other areas or physical locations than where you are currently located and a move might be required. This type of business is like a bank or a financial institution or insurance company or just about any type of large company that employs a large outside sales force.
In many companies, there is also the factor where you as the employee have to make it known that you are interested and available for a more important position. Besides making this known you will also have to engage in, perhaps, outside activities that put you and your company on display, like Chamber of Commerce gatherings or annual volunteer work or charity work. If the social fabric of the company encourages this type of work, then to get ahead you would have to participate in it on a volunteer basis and then let the people within the company with the power to promote know that you are actively promoting the company on your own time. This is how you would go about making choices and decisions that help get you ahead.
Another scenario is that you are in a company that needs referrals to get new business. In this case you would have to attend events where you can talk about your company and actively get referrals for new business. This is something that brings attention to you and gets some money on the bottom line. This might include volunteering to work at trade shows or other activities that are used to sell the company. It is also a way to find similar employment in another company.