Your company's two greatest resources are money and time. Proper use of these and every resource will advance your career in new and exciting ways. As you consider your own resources, remember this: Most CEOs will agree that the best employees are those who view their positions as a sort of ownership of their own company. It's human nature to be more cautious and concerned about our own money than someone else's, so thinking of your company's resources as your own leads to effective stewardship. This, in turn, will benefit you as well as the company.
Ask yourself, "If this were my money, would I invest it in this manner?" This same thought process is powerful when working with clients, too. Look at what the customer is paying for your company's products and/ or services, and then ask yourself, "What can I do within the scope of my job to help the client receive more value for his investment?" The client will love you, and your attitude will spread to those with whom you work.
The perspective that everyone around you is a client brings a whole new attitude of service and team building. By serving those around us as clients, our attitudes adjust to new levels of service and assistance.
The following are some great questions to ask yourself as you look for ways to increase the effectiveness of your (and your co-workers') time and resources:
1. Is there work for which you are responsible that could be completed by a lower-cost resource?
2. For the work that is completed, what gains the best results? The worst results? Can you reallocate resources so you then can focus on tasks that gain the best results?
3. What tasks take the most time and get the worst results? What can be done to fix those situations?
4. What do clients value the most?
5. When did you last have your clients complete a client satisfaction survey?
6. List two or three small actions that you could take to create a WOW experience for your client.
7. Which of your and your team's specific skills are not being fully utilized by the client?
8. Are there actions that were successful in the past that you could start doing again?
It might seem unrealistic to view your job as an ownership position, but the better you use your company's resources, the greater the benefit to you. A successful company means successful employees!
Put yourself in your boss's shoes. Does that sound too far out to be a practical business tip? You might not feel like you have much in common with your boss, but you do... if you view your position in the right light.
Try treating your job as if you were the president of your own company. If you are in operations, consider yourself an operations company; if you're in marketing, consider yourself a marketing company. How you would run your company? If you feel pain when you make a wrong decision and benefit when you make a right decision, you learn quickly to adjust and gain the most from your current position.
This attitude will give you energy as you strive to make your "company" more profitable. Any great employer will not only value this attitude but will give you many opportunities for growth and advancement.
Whenever you make a decision, think, "Did that decision increase or decrease my personal financial resources?" Figure out how much your time is worth (based on your goals for your next level of income), and then figure out how your work could be done with a lower-cost resource. Identify what activities generate the most value for your company, and then focus on those activities. Don't allow the low-level activities to draw away your energy and focus, as is so often the case. People who live in the past think that they can protect their positions by not allowing systems or lower-cost resources to take over their jobs. With the world economy, the Internet, and technology, the only protection you can have is the ability to move to new levels of understanding, knowledge, wisdom, and application.
If you can go into a position and put systems in place that require a lower-cost resource, you become very valuable to a company. If you leave the company, they will continue to benefit from your time with them. The real benefit still lies with you as you take your valuable knowledge to your next position. There always will be top positions available for people who know how to transfer their knowledge to others or put systems in place that lower company costs to complete a task.
Think of a mistake you made at work and how you'd feel if you had to pay for that mistake directly out of your pocket. That mindset will help you grow much faster, and you will learn a great deal more because you are treating company resources as though they were your money being spent on your choices.
Where does your time go during the day? Do you see large blocks of time in your schedule where nothing specific is achieved? Much of that wasted or misused time could be used to advance your career by increasing your company's productivity..
To advance your career and end up at the "front of the pack," look for ways to increase effectiveness and efficiency and to reduce cost and waste. You may not be noticed right away, but inevitably you will be. More and more, great employers and managers are taking note of individuals they encounter in their daily activities, even when not at work. Great companies and great leaders always are looking for great individuals wherever they go. If your current company doesn't appreciate your ability to save the company money, someone else will find you.
Look at money and resources available to you as if they represented your own money. If you don't think something is valuable to the company, ask your manager to explain why the company invested in it. If they don't know, find someone else who does. Once you find out why the company invested in a particular product or service, you may understand and gain better use of it. If the explanation solidifies in your mind that it's still a waste of company money, diplomatically consider how, when, where, why, and with whom you should question the expense. If you have a clear understanding of personalities, consider the product or service from a different personality type and see if you gain additional understanding.
If you are questioning someone else's decision, make sure that you have all the information, that you look at all the possible alternatives, and that you've considered the different personality perspectives, and then approach the situation with much humility. If you are right and remain humble, you will be loved. If you are right and become proud, you will be despised. Even if you're wrong, if you remain humble, you will be admired, but if you're wrong and have a prideful attitude, you will lose favor with those around you.
It is often said that acting more confident can actually make you more confident. Similarly, if you want to increase your income, act like someone earning the income you would like to earn. If you earn $30,000 per year and want to earn $60,000 per year, determine which positions within the company would help you achieve that income. After identifying the position, determine what activities are required to achieve those results, and then start doing those actions on a daily basis. This can work for someone making $10 an hour who wants to earn $15 or someone earning $250,000 who wants to make $500,000.
People thinking on the ground level will say they have done well in their current positions and therefore deserve a raise or promotion. People thinking at a higher level understand that they get paid to do a great job in their current position, and a move to the next level will require additional work and effort. The best way to accomplish this is to earn the raise prior to receiving it.
Employee of the Month and Beyond
All employees occasionally feel that they're doing everything they can in their position, but no one in management ever notices. If you want to see your career flourish over the next twelve to twenty-four months, use the following principle today and every day from now on: Determine to be your company's most productive employee. When people see that this new attitude is driving you, your career will see some very exciting changes.
Everything we do is either consuming or producing something. Past generations knew this and worked very hard to produce far beyond what they consumed. Many people today have the philosophy that the company should be pay them what they're "worth" based on what they generate for the company. A more productive philosophy asks the question, "How can I accomplish my own personal goals while at the same time helping the company fully achieve its goals?"
Asking the important people in your life, including managers, co-workers, and your family, several leading questions can bring insight into your business and your personal life:
What suggestion can you offer to help me improve in ____?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate me in _____?
What do you like most about my service? Least?
Where is your biggest challenge, and how I can help you overcome it?
What can I do to create a WOW experience for you?
Remember that the more you accomplish for the company based on what they invest into you financially, the more valuable you are to the company. The more valuable you are, the more they try to make you happy. The happier you are, the better you perform and the farther you advance. The farther you advance, the more money you can earn and the more profitable you will become to the company. The only thing that could stand in your way is pride. Don't let it be the silent killer. Recognize those that help you advance and give you suggestions. Remember that no one gets to where he is by himself. Be appreciative of the investments others make into your life, and you will see great benefits in all areas of your life.
