Never Lose Your Job... Become A More Valuable Player
And IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE... DEVELOP MVPs TODAY
by Jim Rohrer
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Table of Contents
Jim Rohrer Speaks ... Why You Should Listen
Sample of: Improve Your Bottom Line... Develop Mvps Today
FOREWORD
Never Lose Your Job... Become a More Valuable Player is a bi-book; that is, you get two books in one. Its format, which addresses employers under one cover and employees under the other, is my attempt to get both to exchange points of view. I believe exchanging perspectives is the most powerful way under the sun to facilitate progress in anything. To make significant progress, we must change our frame of reference.
If you have a job and are valuable enough to your employer, you can probably be secure in your employment. This half of the book will give you some real-life ways to become The other half of the book is directed to employers, suggesting to them some simple ways they can develop the MVPs (More Valuable Players) who will improve the profitability of their business. If I can help even in a small way to reduce layoffs and improve some businesses’ viability, it’s worth the effort.
I believe the economic crisis we’ve been enduring since late in 2008 has brought us to a crossroads. Businesses need to be more creative than ever to succeed. They need to rethink much of what they At the same time, employees are experiencing unprecedented numbers of job losses. Those who are employed are asking themselves, The most valuable asset any business has is its people. You and your fellow workers largely determine the success of the business you’re in, yet you may not be feeling so valuable in these turbulent times.
Your boss wants top performing employees, yet he or she may not have taken the time to understand what you and your fellow workers most seek in your job, beyond your paycheck. We know that, like air, a paycheck is necessary for life, but once you have it, there are many other factors which affect how you feel about your job.
As an employee, you can virtually insure your own job security if you become valuable enough to the long term success of the company. If you could walk in your bosses’ shoes, and he or she could walk in yours, you would greatly increase your probability of getting what’s really important to each of you.
We all live in our own frames of reference. Our personal perspectives largely define how we see the world. It’s no surprise that our astronauts come back from outer space changed individuals. They see the world in a way that’s impossible to see while their feet are on the ground. Anyone who has travelled abroad learns that the world does not revolve around the USA. Unfortunately, most Americans assume it does.
I was about to graduate from Air Force Officer Training School, as a Second Lieutenant, otherwise known as a My last stop was a visit with a tough, old Sergeant. Among our instructors, he gave us the very best training we received during the entire course.
Sarge pointed out that today we were trainees, but tomorrow we’d be junior officers, and, as was the tradition, if we passed, he’d be saluting us! He further pointed out that the salute was out of respect for the gold bars we wore, not necessarily for the wearer. He further explained that non-commissioned officers like himself, who earned their rank by experience, actually ran the Air Force. They largely determined the success or failure of each day’s mission.
The old sergeant went on to tell us that our individual effectiveness as officers would be determined by our ability to work with those who had the experience. If we insisted on believing and acting as if we knew everything, we would fail. We’d never earn the respect of those whom we outranked. If, on the other hand, we were able to respect the experience represented by those who had been there and actually done the work, we’d become successful leaders. Our careers and the Air Force would benefit from that leadership.
On graduation day, as we filed past the reviewing stand, there was the old Sergeant saluting every one of us. I never forgot his message and his salute. I’ve tried to earn that salute by honoring the lesson he taught me.
In the second half of this book, I hope to influence your boss so he’ll listen more keenly to you and your ideas. I’m hoping your boss will stop and consider what’s important to you and your fellow workers. By the same token, I want you to think about what it’s like to be responsible for the livelihoods of many who count on the success of the business to provide the jobs so necessary to survive in today’s job-shrinking economic times.
Trying harder won’t improve results nearly as much as exchanging perspectives with your boss. Truly, you have to walk in each other’s shoes to understand how working for mutual goals can insure that the company will not only survive but thrive. In turn, you’ll have a much better chance of staying employed.
The current economy may have you scared to death. If you’re like many Americans, you couldn’t survive long without your monthly paycheck. I know exactly how you feel. I once had a job that was critical to my financial well-being. But I also knew I was overpaid for the job I’d been given! Due to a complicated set of circumstances, the job responsibilities had been lessened after the pay level was set. In other words, I was being paid more than my contributions were worth to the organization. It gets worse.
Because of this fear, I became less aggressive about doing the job. For the first time in my career, I was timid and unwilling to give the tasks at hand all I had. I’m not saying I didn’t work hard and put in the time, but I just didn’t give it the benefit of my many years of experience. I could have performed better, but fear of losing the job caused me to underperform. As soon as the first opportunity for a downsizing occurred, I was part of the downsizing. I feel particularly bad about the result of my less than stellar performance, because others who worked for me were also downsized.
Every job, whether it’s sweeping the floor or being the CEO, has two levels of compensation appropriate for that job. The first is whatever the company would have to pay to get someone else to perform the job at a satisfactory level. The second level is the economic worth the organization gets from outstanding performance by the jobholder.
Let’s say you’re driving a truck and servicing the company’s customers. If you’re making the expected number of service calls and successfully completing the calls, your pay should be at the level the company would have to pay to replace you. If, on the other hand, you’re not only making your expected calls, but you’re also creating a positive experience in the minds of your customers; you’re going above what’s expected. By creating a favorable view of your company, you’ve actually raised your value to the company. Your employer might decide to raise your pay, either by some merit pay based on the performance plan, or just by recognizing you with a base increase. In either case, you need to continue to perform at that current level or higher.
If you’re following this example, you may say, Isn’t there a pay benefit for longevity on the job? In our current competitive environment, the answer is no, unless that extra experience translates into performance that helps your company compete more successfully.
One only has to look at the American automotive companies whose pay practices, from the plant floor to the boardroom, were not supported by the same level of economic value to the companies. Companies who overpay their employees will not be able to stay in business. There’s no doubt the one significant factor in the millions of lost jobs is that, as in the case of me in the job I lost, the pay was greater than the benefit received by the company.
If you want job security, you should strive to be underpaid, not overpaid!
This book was written to help you gain practical ways to increase your value to your employer. If you become a MVP, you’ll have greater job security, and you may even have the boss tap you for a tougher, higher-paying job.
I hope you’re excited to read my ideas about how you can become a MVP. If your employer gave you this book, it says he or she is looking for a new level of partnership with you. One which will benefit you and make the company better able to sail through this tough economy and whatever competitive challenges it may face in the future.
Be sure to read the employer side of this book as well. This is meant to be a partnership between employee and employer.
CHAPTER ONE
I’m sure you’ve heard someone say You may not like hearing that, but it's true that what's running through your mind has a lot to do with how you’ll perform. Your attitude can be either a limiting or a positive factor; however, attitude adjustment is not a simple matter.
We’re all familiar with the idea of the glass half full or half empty. It’s true that we all see things in different ways. I know I’m a person who always anticipates achieving a positive goal or focuses on an upcoming pleasant experience.
My wife Nancy is quite different. She has a tendency to look for ways to avoid unpleasant events. If I were to propose purchasing a new car, I’d have a difficult time getting her excited about the shiny new vehicle because she’d see the cost more clearly than the enjoyment factor. If, on the other hand, I pointed out that our current vehicle is old and we’re facing future high maintenance costs, she’d be inclined to want to avoid those costs and favor the purchase.
Neither of these views is correct or incorrect, they’re just different. Some of us hear a set of facts and automatically try to validate these facts in our mind. Others of us immediately try to invalidate the facts in our mind. One of us hears their inner voice saying Others hear
The point here is to encourage the realization we can’t always just turn on a positive attitude when faced with a set of facts. While such an attitude is universally sought, we have to work hard to train our minds to be open to process facts in a positive manner, one which moves us forward rather than being a burden to success. Let’s look at the four key ingredients of a positive attitude: confidence, adaptability, innovation and personal growth.
CONFIDENCE EQUALS PREPARATION PLUS BELIEF TIMES PASSION
Just like the classic children’s book, The Little Engine That Could, knowing you have it in yourself to do something makes it much more possible to accomplish. This thing called confidence is important. Oh, you might say that just believing doesn't make it happen. You’re right, of course, but if you actually prepare for whatever you’re trying to do, and then give it everything you have, it's much more likely to come true.
When I was a twelve year old boy, I played on a little league baseball team. I was a pretty good ballplayer because my dad had spent many, many hours teaching me to hit, throw and catch a baseball. We had a rock in the front bushes that we’d pull out and use as an imaginary first base. Since I wasn’t a fast runner and didn’t have a very strong throwing arm, we decided I’d be a first baseman. We spent many hours with Dad throwing me the ball so I had to reach for it and stretch to keep my foot on that rock.
In addition to working on fielding, we’d go up to the schoolyard, and he’d pitch dozens of balls to me to improve my hitting. He knew hitting was about timing and timing required that you swing early. Most kids swing late, but Dad taught me to swing early and hard. That lesson enabled me to hit the ball most of the time. It was this preparation that made it possible for me to make the baseball team.
In those days there weren't enough teams to accommodate every kid who wanted to play. You had to be good enough to get picked for the team. I’m sure that without the hard work and preparation with my Dad, I wouldn’t have made the team.
About half way through the season, I had a bad streak with my hitting. I was striking out a lot. I hated to strike out, so I stopped swinging and hoped to get a walk. It wasn't that hard to do because many pitchers didn't have good control. They could throw hard, but they might not get the ball over the plate. I got to the place where I was walking once or twice a game, but getting called out on strikes the other times. When that happened, I blamed it on a bad call by the umpire. This was my way of avoiding swing-and-miss strikeouts.
One week right before we were to play a good team with the best pitcher in the league, my mother announced we wouldn't be going to the game that week. “What do you mean,” I asked? “Of course, we have to go to the game.”
“No,” Mom said, “your Dad and I decided since you’re afraid to swing and Westfall is pitching in this one, it doesn’t make sense to even go. He won’t walk you and you won’t swing, so what’s the point?”
I was horrified. I couldn’t believe we’d just not show up. What would my coach and teammates think? This was a big game and not going was like giving up and being a bad teammate. I begged them to change their mind, but there was no budging their decision. I thought about the whole thing of not swinging, and realized it was what would be called at the time, a “sissy way” out of my batting slump. I mentioned to Dad that maybe we should take some extra time practicing hitting at school. Then I’d be better prepared to face Westfall.
“No, it's too late for that,” he said. “You’ve made up your mind you can’t hit, so let's just forget the whole thing.”
I couldn't sleep at night; I was totally filled with the thoughts of what my teammates would say about my not coming to face Westfall. They’d say I was “chicken.” I guess in a way, I was. Anyway, it was an awful week. The game was on Thursday, and on that morning, I made one more attempt to get the decision changed. I told my parents I’d swing at any pitch over the plate. I promised there would be no walks. They listened to me and they softened their stance a little. Dad said he’d think about it at work, and if he changed his mind, he’d call in time for us to go to the game.
I had an awful day because I was convinced we weren’t going to the game. I kept asking Mom if Dad had called. He hadn't, and the reality that I was too “chicken” to face Westfall hung over me all day. The game was to start at four o'clock. About 3:15, the call came. Mom put me on the phone. Dad said he’d allow me to play if I kept my promise to swing at strikes. I promised and hurried to get my uniform on and head out to the ball park.
When we got there, I noticed my Dad was just pulling up, but I hardly acknowledged him. I was still plenty upset by what had happened that week. I saw Westfall warming up on the sideline, but didn't allow myself to watch how hard he threw. Since I batted third, I knew I’d be facing him in the first inning. I can still remember standing in the on-deck circle. I wasn't thinking about striking out. I wasn't thinking about how hard Westfall was pitching.
My only thought was that he’d throw strikes, and I’d be swinging. If I struck out; so what! I wouldn’t go down without a swing.
I stepped into the batter’s box without looking around to see if my Dad was watching. I heard him say, “Come on Jimmy, you can' do it.” The first pitch was way over my head. I didn't swing because it was so far up, I couldn't have hit it if I wanted to. The next pitch looked like a strike. I swung as hard and fast as I could. I hit it...in fact, I hit it hard. As I looked up, I saw it clear the right center field fence. Actually, I wasn't all that surprised. I thought I’d be able to make contact somehow. It wasn't until later, it actually sunk in that I’d hit a home run off Westfall.
I can't remember hitting too many home runs in my baseball career. I wasn’t a great power hitter, but I did manage to hit the ball somewhere most of the time. I know now what the reasons were: we prepared by practicing and because I swung. I’ve never forgotten the old idea that “You can’t get a hit if you don’t swing.”
My parents added the element of passion. They got my attention and taught me to always try my very best. They let me know they could live with me striking out, but not with me not trying. I got that message. What does my boyhood story have to do with you becoming a MVP at work? Like the lessons I learned, your boss will have little patience for those who don't “take a swing,” even when the odds of “getting a hit” are a long shot.
AN EXERCISE FOR DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE
First, think carefully about the task ahead. Break it down and try to figure out how you can prepare yourself for what's to come. If it's a conversation with a customer, think about what that customer is likely to want. Figure out how you can make the desired result happen, or at least how you can come close to making it happen.
Next, think carefully about what's at stake. What will happen to the organization when you succeed? Don't think about “striking out.” Focus on the desired outcome with your entire mind. Think about how much you’ll enjoy telling your boss about the great outcome. Focus on how proud you’ll be to have done your part. Then, think about the other person, the customer or whomever you had to work with to accomplish the goal. Think about how much they’ll appreciate your effort.
Confidence is one of those things that grows with each success. Every time you accomplish something important, you become that much more certain you’re a valuable person with unusual skills. Of course, there’ll be times when you’re not 100 percent successful, but like my baseball experience; you’ll have more confidence than if you failed to take a swing.
YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADAPT
Isaac Asimov, the author of over 500 books, wrote
The only constant is change.
He certainly was correct. I can remember before there was TV; I can remember my first plane ride, my first computer and my first very large cell phone. Today, I tweet! Today’s college students entirely missed Johnny Carson, the OJ Trial, dress codes anywhere, the Beatles, and many other iconic people and events that are part of my history.
Change comes upon us daily. For this reason, adaptability
must be on everyone’s list of required attitudes to become
a MVP at anything.
Have you ever been frustrated with someone who won’t change their approach or attitude because they just can’t drop the old way of thinking? We may have unpleasant names for these folks, like “fuddy-duddies” or “old school” or just plain “out of touch.” When there’s a lack of adaptability by someone, it becomes a significant barrier to success. In too many companies, “back to the basics” means doing the same unsuccessful things again, but trying harder. Trying harder doesn’t work when you have the wrong frame of reference. We must change our frame of reference or the way we see things, before we can demonstrate adaptability.
I’m proposing that you adapt to new circumstances by embracing new ideas, new approaches and new ways of thinking about things. Change is inevitable. Without it, you stagnate.
Otherwise, you should accept the fact that differences require different approaches. I’ve never fully understood the old saying “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” Since I lack “cat-skinning” experience or interest, I can’t validate that, but it sounds right.
My adaptability story happened many years ago. I had just been made the Regional Personnel Manager of a group of retail stores in Detroit. The stores were not doing well. In fact, their profitability ranking was among the worst in the entire company. When I arrived, I was told the stores had too many people, and they were too highly paid. In addition, the pay levels, numbers, and general poor performance had us last in productivity and profit. The good news was there was a plan. It included a massive layoff. Surely this would be the answer.
Every facet of the plan had been developed to the smallest detail. This had clearly been in the works a long time. The company had never experienced layoffs, but it had been explained that Detroit understands layoffs. That’s the way the car companies do it, and everyone understands this method of cost reduction. Just follow the union procedure, even though these were not union stores. Everyone will understand and accept the process.
I remember thinking that letting go of the youngest, the lowest paid, and often the ones highest in individual productivity, while keeping the high seniority, higher paid, often less productive individuals seemed wrong. But I was the new guy and so, I didn’t challenge the “well developed plan.”
The day before the layoff was to occur; we got a call from the new company president. I remember it like it was yesterday. He got all our staff on the speaker phone and the conversation went something like this:
Fellas, I just was informed about the layoff plan. I apologize for calling at the very last moment. I can’t approve this plan. First, we have never done layoffs. I think it rips the company fabric. I know you’re a new team and you feel badly about the poor profit performance of the Detroit Group, and you want to change that. I’m sure you will. The folks who you would let go are not the reason the group is doing so poorly. The reason is actually years and years of poor decision making by the leaders in Detroit. We should not take away employee jobs because we’ve failed. Again, I’m sorry for the last minute call, but I want you to come up with a new plan. I’m sure your new plan will take longer and that’s okay. Let’s do the right thing. Let me know about the new plan as soon as you have one. Have a good day.
You could have heard a pin drop in the room.
It took some time to develop the alternative plan. Before any new plan was even possible, the group had to understand the change that had happened and to accept that, they had to deal with that change. At first, there was a lot of complaining and general wailing about the president, who just didn’t understand that “Detroit is different.” No one even began to think about a new plan until it became clear that the old culture was being called into question by the new president. This culture dictated how we thought about our people.
For many years, the Detroit stores believed Detroit was, indeed, different because of the highly unionize environment. Conventional wisdom said, the way to stay non-union, was to do things and act as the unions would dictate. In other words, follow the rules union operations had in place.
The heart of this mentality was, “Seniority is the most important element in a person’s status.” What they produced was not important, or in many cases, not even noted or tracked. The new president was telling Detroit its people were much more than their collective seniority. He felt that laying them off was dehumanizing and unfair. Detroit believed as long as the union rules defined the lay-off, it was okay. This distinct difference was at the heart of the need for a new strategy.
The new strategy was to count on the employees to deliver the turnaround by achieving greater results. If each could somehow improve their individual productivity, even a little bit, it would raise the total performance of all the stores. The new way of thinking about people and what they could contribute didn’t come easily. The old thinking was deeply entrenched. New job standards had to be defined and written for all jobs. The new standards had to be communicated to everyone.
Some people had a hard time understanding that the change would protect those who produced at or above the standard of their job. That was like speaking an entirely new language. Some managers couldn’t implement the new plan. They had to be replaced with those who understood and believed in the new way. Some employees couldn’t adapt to the new way of thinking either. Many of them didn’t even try. They submitted their resignations or retired. Most welcomed and accepted the new ideas. Slowly, productivity began to rise, based on the improved individual results of many of the employees.
The economy was very bad, especially in Detroit. Layoffs were common at many companies in the area. Managers talked about the layoffs and announced there would be no layoffs here. We just have to make our numbers, and then we’ll be okay. Training and support were stepped up. Those who tried hard, but just needed a little more help, received that necessary assistance to improve their performance.
This transformation was not a quick one, as the president had forecast. It took about two years before the stores’ performances were approaching satisfactory levels. Once the change started to happen, it came more swiftly. After another two years, the stores were among the most profitable in the entire company. They were now setting standards instead of bringing up the rear. The focus on results was a source of pride among all the employees.
The point here is that the ability to change and adapt to a new set of circumstances caused the success. Without that change of heart and focus, the same dismal results would have surely followed. The other point is, change wouldn’t have been made without the intervention of an outside force, in this case the new president.
Current tough economic conditions will undoubtedly mean dealing with change. Your ability to recognize the need for change and to adapt and embrace it will go a long way toward making you a MVP. One who delivers winning results.
GET THAT INNOVATIVE SPIRIT
YOU CAN LEARN FROM MOMS... THEY’RE INNOVATIVE!
It has been said, the ability of America to be successful for well over 200 years is a testimony to the innovative spirit of our people. We’re in a desperate fight to retain our leadership in the worlds of business and science. Despite the cynics who honestly believe our run as world leader is coming to an end, I don’t believe that. We’ve faced many uncertain times in our past, and we have always come up with new ways of being successful. The key to this is in our freedom.
The biggest threat to our innovative spirit is the idea that a few subject matter experts know better what to do to improve, than those who are in the trenches. Already, the “trench-people” are rebelling. The innovation formula is simple. If you focus on getting the success you want, you’ll see more options to take you there. Focus on doing what you’ve always done, and the success you so desperately want will be difficult to achieve.
I love to tell a story about innovation where the heroine in the story is my mom. She had a wonderful, God-given talent of being able to create beautiful oil-base paintings. Although she was largely self-taught, she enjoyed a great reputation in her town as someone whose wonderful paintings brought great enjoyment. She was a gifted artist who was happiest when she was working with her paints.
The only problem she had was her full-sized paintings took a long time to produce. To adequately compensate her for her time, they had to be priced at a level considered to be somewhat expensive. Many of those who had the opportunity to visit the art gallery where her works were on display, found the purchase price limited their ability to buy her works. This was distressing to her because she wanted her talent to be the source of enjoyment for many others.
Focusing on her main objective, she developed a very innovative strategy. She came to understand that pictures of the home in which someone grew up were a source of great warm feelings, invoking wonderful memories of the past and perhaps of those no longer alive. She reasoned that if someone could provide a snapshot of their home, she could do a miniature oil painting of it. Mom packaged each with an easel and small, but handsome frame. She was able to do them relatively quickly so the price she had to charge was moderate, allowing virtually everyone to own one of her house paintings.
She laughed about her new career as a “house painter.” Some artists might have poked fun at the endeavor, but Mom was in the business of using her talent to bring joy to others. She marveled at the numbers of orders she got, especially around Christmas or other gift-giving times. The brilliance of the idea was not just in the painting, but in the way she met her goal of bringing joy to more people with her paintings. So it is with all of us. Being more innovative means spending a bit more time thinking hard about our goal. As you focus on the goal, you’ll see more options on how to achieve it.
A Formula for Innovation:
First, write down your goal in very certain terms. Get very specific. I want to do this specific thing in a specific time frame. Don’t compromise on the goal, but you must define it. Mom’s goal was to allow a specific number of people to experience the joy of owning one of her paintings.
Next, you need to propose on paper how you might achieve your goal. For instance, if mom’s goal was to affect fifty people positively by the end of a year, it became obvious; the size of the paintings had to be reduced. She used pencil and paper to figure out the right size.
You get the idea. I’m sure the innovation at Apple comes from their ability to miniaturize technology. This has made it possible to apply their success to additional applications. First, listening to music, and then applying it to a very cool phone, a notebook, and ultimately, the iPad.
Innovation can be characterized as looking for different ways to get to your goal and not giving up. I’ll add one more idea. Innovative people don’t always succeed on the first try. If the culture where you work only rewards success and punishes failure, innovation will not come nearly as fast. Those who try and fail are much better off than those who never try. Every failure is the knowledge of one more way that didn’t work, This means, when you try, you’re closer to succeeding.
PERSONAL GROWTH
My Father taught me you can never stop growing. He encouraged me to read books. I can still hear his words:
Someone who refuses to read is no better than someone who can’t read.
Until Alzheimer’s disease took away his mental capability at age 90, he remained committed to the idea that learning was a neverending, lifetime endeavor. In his later years, he often criticized his contemporaries because they had become hardened to many ideas made years earlier, when the circumstances were much different. He’d laugh and say, “Things change, but my friend’s opinions never do.”
The internet gives us easy access to expertise on almost any subject. Of course, you might have to sort out opposing opinions, but the fact-finding tasks we accomplished years ago at the local library are much easier with the gifts of technology. The proliferation of information makes it unforgivable to be uninformed on virtually any subject of interest to you.
My father was an author who pounded out his stories and articles on an IBM typewriter. Before anyone in the family had a computer, we came upon a great offer for some advanced word processors. We purchased four of them. One was for my Dad, one for me and one each for my two sons, both of whom were in highs chool. Although they were almost a computer, the instruction manual―which had been translated into English―left much to the imagination. Reading it brought many laughs, much frustration, and few answers about the various functions of the equipment.
My sons and I became somewhat satisfied to use only the simplest functions, which we had figured out by trial and error. My Father, on the other hand, was intrigued with the contraption. He was determined to uncover every single feature. He budgeted a certain amount of time each week to uncovering new and unknown secrets. As he explored the device, he documented his findings very carefully. Within a few months he had written an entire user guide in easy-to-follow steps. He forwarded the new information on loose leaf pages, which each of us could print and use to add to our growing mastery of the machines.
PC’s had not come to my business in any significant way, and my sons were now in college where they were required to produce term-papers and other documents. The skills we had acquired because of my dad’s hard work and persistence gave us an advantage over others who were not yet connected. This advantage had been produced by a man in his late seventies who was determined to pursue this latest technology.
When he turned eighty, we gave him his first computer. He loved it, of course, and mastered it immediately. Each new advance in computer technology was gobbled up by Dad. It wasn’t long before he became bored with dial-up. I think he was the first in the senior living facility to have high speed Internet service. At eighty-eight, he published a very funny article called, My Computer Doesn’t Love Me Anymore, which encouraged fellow seniors to persevere with their computer learning.
The first sign we had that something was wrong with his mental processes was when he began to call my sister or me to remind him how to perform some function with his computer. Right up until the Alzheimer’s progressed to the visible stage, he read constantly, wrote every day and grasped facets about the world around him others his age never saw. It never occurred to him his experience had supplied him with all the right answers. He was always open to the idea that new realities required new understandings.
What does this story tell us?
My father made personal growth a habit; so can you.
I believe personal growth is a time-management exercise. You have to make time to become more informed on subjects that are important to you or your work. Each week you’ll be able to identify one or two key subjects that confront you at work. Consider these subjects carefully. Reject the idea you already know the approach or answer you’ll need. Set aside a little time to research the topic you’re facing. Go online to get ideas from other experts on the subject. Read conflicting ideas and trust your own intellect and judgment to give you the best path.
If you get a better idea, that’s a good thing, of course. You’ll be able to document and support the new approach, paralleling the experience someone else has had, as well as the reason you feel your selected approach matches their experience. Your preparation will be recognized, and it will be hard to disagree with your supported position. If, on the other hand, your previously held position is supported by others who have successfully used your idea, you’ll be rewarded with more confidence you’re pursuing the best path. Even in the unlikely event your approach is not completely successful, you’ll look and feel better for having taken the time to give it your best shot.
Can you image a top lawyer going into court without first looking at similar cases? They certainly look carefully over all the evidence and forecast the points the opposing counsel will likely make. Then, they’ll prepare strong arguments to counter those expected by their opponents. After this type of preparation, they will either go into the courtroom with confidence or they might realize they didn’t have a strong case. Either way, they will be able to best represent their client with the knowledge that preparation had provided them.
Why then would any salesperson give a canned presentation rather than one prepared after specifically designing it for the prospect they will be facing? Why would any operations decision be made without considering both the advantage hoped for and the possible downside of the decision? It happens every day, but MVPs like Peyton Manning don’t fail to prepare. He’s considered the best quarterback in the National Football League, both for his physical skills and mental strategy skills. No other quarterback can match his “audible skills” and instinctive ability to call the right play.
SUMMARY
As this chapter on attitude concludes, consider how important attitude is to your becoming a MVP at work. Confidence isn’t enough, but when you work at also being adaptable, innovative, committed to personal growth, and prepared, you’ll dramatically improve your results. Make no mistake; employers everywhere are worried about the results of their organization. If you can be counted on to deliver positive results, your value to the organization will rise, as will your job security.
William J. Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues, said, “There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes.” That means whatever your job; you’ll do it better if you consider your attitude as an important part of what you contribute to your job.
CHAPTER TWO
YOUR PERSONAL CHARACTER
TRAITS DEFINE WHO YOU ARE
Before a newborn ever leaves the hospital, there are those who see a likeness to one or both of the parents. It’s clear that physical appearance characteristics do follow family lines. Your DNA partially defines you. It’s less clear, but also scientifically proven, we have personality traits that are inherited. The difference is that personality traits are called tendencies by most psychologists. That is, who we are in terms of character traits is not preordained at birth. Our training, the environment in which we process events around us, and our own will power, primarily determine which character traits are most dominant in our lives.
Every Boy Scout has memorized the Scout Oath that says a Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. This early programming has stood the test of time, and most of us would sign our children up for these traits today if we could. But here comes that environment thing that catches the attention of young people and re-prioritizes which traits are most important. Often, they pursue those traits that result in increased positive attention or admiration by those who are most important to them. In view of that reasoning, I suppose we all re-prioritize to some degree.
Let’s look carefully at the traits most universally sought by employers; hardworking, honesty, dependability, and loyalty.
HARDWORKING
Business has had a fixation with productivity since the Industrial Revolution. If you can increase the productivity of your assets, profit has to increase, unless, of course, some cost is out of control. As it relates to the people in the trenches, getting more production from the same number of manpower hours equals increased productivity. It’s no wonder your boss tries to come up with ways to increase the productivity of each and every department in the company.
There are three ways to increase productivity:
1. You can place less emphasis on the quality of the various tasks, allowing workers to produce a greater quantity of the product.
2. There can be new or better ways of doing the job, in which case it may be done just as well, but at a faster rate.
3. The company can describe the output goals to the workers and let them improvise. They’ll see the value to both the company and themselves to produce more and/or to provide a higher quality of work.
My experience is, after both of the first two strategies have been tried with no further gains, the last will still yield positive results. We all have it in us to increase our output if we’re committed to improvement. Whatever the endeavor, we can all do just a little bit better. We can be a better spouse, better parent, better friend and yes, a better worker. The defining ingredient is the desire to be―to do― better.
So, if your boss lets it be known he or she is all about hardworking employees, know that you have it in you to become one of those. A funny thing about us humans is, until we really want to “run the race and win,” we all look like “slow runners.”
Throughout my career I used the story about the donkey and carrot. I’m not sure who gets credit for authoring it, but it illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of many incentive plans currently found in the workplace. You’ve seen the familiar picture of the donkey pulling the cart with a carrot dangling in front of him. The donkey's motivation to pull is obviously to reach and take a bite of the carrot. For this incentive to work, the load has to be light enough for him to pull. In addition, the carrot has to be desirable enough and the donkey has to be hungry enough to want to take a bite of that carrot.
However, if he doesn’t eventually have his bite of carrot, he’s going to recognize it's a "con game" and he’ll stop pulling. The only problem is, when you give the donkey a big enough bite of the carrot, he’s no longer going to be hungry. Consequently, his motivation to pull is dramatically reduced. At this point, the only way you can get him to pull is to lighten the load, shorten the stick, and sweeten the carrot.
The problem is, in the business world, we have a “load” that is fairly well dictated by market conditions. If you lighten it too much, or give the donkey too big a bite of the carrot (analogous to a part of the profit generated by the free enterprise system), the operation no longer remains profitable. You ultimately end up out of business.
Today’s fringe benefits are tomorrow's expectations. So what do you do? The conventional answer is to change the donkey to a thoroughbred and make him want to run.
Please don’t think we’re comparing workers to animals (although we’ve all had a boss somewhere who only seemed to know the words “pull harder”). The ability and character of American workers is what has made us the most successful country in the world. If we love our work, understand the importance we bring to the company, and respect the goals and aspirations of the company, we’ll never have to be told to “pull harder.”
If the boss is intent on finding “hard-working” folks, what does that really mean? I don’t think it means being the first one there in the morning and the last to leave. It doesn’t means putting in lots of unpaid overtime or extra hours. ... Well, what the heck does it mean then?
How about this? Being hardworking means knowing what’s vitally important about your job and making sure that’s where you put most of your effort and time. Add finding a way not to just “do your best,” but getting it done.
One of the hardest working companies I’ve ever worked with was a start-up in Silicon Valley selling and supplying DSL service when there were few suppliers. It was certainly on the edge of an emerging age where fast Internet service would be available to virtually everyone. I was recruited to the company along with other key players. When I met the key staff, I could see everyone had one goal. That was to bring whatever their skill set was to the company so it could grow and prosper. These key individuals recruited others to fill the many needs the company had.
We all brought in the very best and brightest among our contacts. Soon we had assembled a team that was, by any measure, impressive. I remember thinking the assembled team resembled the United Nations. There were people who were originally from several different countries. It was the most ethnically diverse group I’d ever experienced.
Soon I began to see something I’d not previously experienced; the hard working nature of the workforce. These employees worked hard at their tasks. They worked together with little interdepartmental friction. They all cared about not letting another department or individual down. Everyone wanted the piece for which they were responsible to be first rate, and they’d work until it was. There was no “buck passing.” And I never heard ,“That’s not my job.”
There were no excuses; just results. Staff meetings were short, on target and focused on the results that were needed that week. There was a concern for long-term objectives, but making this week’s goal was most important.
I admit we were treated better than any workforce I’d been a part of. An excellent lunch was brought in each day: the increase in my waist size reflected it! I could see my weight climbing by the week. The area where our programmers worked had pool tables and ping pong tables for use during break times. Each work area had stocked refrigerators, so you’d never be thirsty or hungry. Pay was good, but certainly not out of step with other companies in our market. Everyone had stock options that could only be cashed in after the company became public and demonstrated its viability over some period of time.
The Chief Executive set the tone for the company with her personal standards, honest regard for the employees, and determination to succeed. She was probably the best executive for whom I’ve ever worked.
Her example had all the important elements which, if any were missing, could have corrupted the environment. But what was it that made the employees work so well together and produce such exceptional results?
Let’s go back to the donkey story. The employees of this company were all “thoroughbreds,” and they all loved to “run.” That is, they were proud to be part of this young and upcoming company. They had great pride in their own ability to produce superior results. In addition to the workers and managers assembled, there were two organizational skills that contributed to the hardworking attitudes of the employees.
The first was a focus on one goal. Since fast internet speed was a brand new product, it was clear the winners would be those companies who were first to the market with a dependable product. Everyone knew for us to be successful we had to have a product that worked every time. Whether you were developing the product or supporting it, the focus on results was clear. No one department could insure the success by themselves, but we understood the shared accountability for success. So, in this example, a hardworking ethic was driven by the notion that what I do counts, and someone else is relying on me to do my part well.
The other element in organizations that defines whether the climate is right for hardworking individuals is the elimination of distractions. This was a new organization and there wasn’t any “We have always done it this way.” Your situation, working for a more mature organization, may contain many such distractions. You have to deal with them because they’re real, but the more you can stay focused on what’s important to moving your department or the organization forward, the better you’ll do.
Being that person who everyone characterizes as hardworking will dramatically improve your stature in your organization and move you ever closer to being a MVP.
TO SUMMARIZE THE HARDWORKING PRINCIPLE, THERE ARE FOUR REQUIREMENTS:
1. You have to like the work. Thoroughbreds like to run, therefore they run fast. If you hate your job, you should consider a change as soon as one becomes practical. Trust me; an opportunity will pop up sometime if you seek it.
2. You must believe in what you’re doing. Even a floorsweeper can love making a place clean, while the CEO may hate wha the or she has to do to succeed. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, you’re in the wrong job.
3. You must figure out what you do that’s truly important to the success of your department or company. Focus on getting that particular thing done and done well. It must be your singular, number one priority
4. Lastly, to whatever amount you can, you must filter out distractions. Don’t spend time on unimportant things. Conserve your energy, applying it to things that matter.
HONESTY
You might be thinking, how obvious. I’m not talking about not taking home the company supplies, although refraining from doing so is a good idea. I’m talking about honesty on a much deeper level. I’m talking about being honest with yourself and standing up for what you know to be right.
My personal experience happened when I was a relatively junior person in a large firm. I was asked to present a huge project to the CEO. I knew if it was approved, I’d be promoted to the biggest role I’d ever experienced in my career. I also knew that if I followed the “normal script” in the presentation, I wouldn’t set the right goals for the project. I feared it would fail or certainly never achieve its full potential.
The company had been in a cost-cutting mode for several years. If this particular project was accepted as a cost cutting project, it would never succeed. But cost-cutting was virtually all the company listened to at that time. Those with the best cost-cutting ideas were promoted, and everyone else was left behind. To make it worse, I was in the operations department, known to be the leaders of the cost-cutters. Our consistent approach was always “less is best.”
As I prepared for the presentation, my boss wanted lots of detail and practice runs. Themes like getting the best possible people and insuring we had sufficient training and enough resources were not what he wanted to hear in the presentation. However, I knew these elements were necessary. As we continued to practice and rehearse, he continued to enforce the cost-cutting script.
I remember the advice my wife gave me. “If they can’t see what you’re recommending is correct, they shouldn’t be in charge.” Well, she may have been right, but they were in charge, and she didn’t understand the culture of the company. My boss was so insistent about sticking to the script, he made me promise I’d read the presentation.
I couldn’t see how that would work. The presentation was very detailed and would take a few hours to complete. I couldn’t see myself reading to the Chairman for hours, but I agreed to the reading demand. There was one deviation agreed upon. If he asked questions, I was allowed to go off the script and answer.
The night before the presentation I hardly slept at all. I knew I had a great project and well thought out details. It would work and provide a huge advantage to the company it had previously lacked. But, what would this long reading thing feel like? I knew my career was hanging in the balance. I wasn’t sure the chairman even knew who I was, but he would know tomorrow. If he hated the ideas or the way I advanced them, I probably would need to look for another job. If I failed to do what my boss had instructed, I definitely would need a new job.
To make the scene even more stressful, when I arrived, there was a lunch served in the Chairman’s dining area. He was there, along with four of his staff members, plus my boss and his boss. I remember I ate little, as I was sure I’d become ill if I did. Finally, we sat around a big conference table and each person had their own book with my script and all the associated numbers bound into it. They all laughed and promised not to look at the numbers in the back of the book until I completed the presentation.
My boss introduced me and told everyone how hard I’d been studying this idea, and that he was sure I got it right. Then, with all eyes on me, the reading began. I read the script as promised for about four or five minutes...then the Chairman stopped me. “Wait a minute, Jim. Cut to the chase and tell me what it is you’re recommending and why,” he instructed.
I told him what the goal of the project was, and as to the why, I said, “For about what we’re spending today, we can dramatically improve the service we provide and our ability to serve the customers.”
There, it’s out. It’s not a cost-cutting idea, but an improvement one. Soon, I’ll know if I’m fired, I thought.
“That’s interesting,” he said. “Tell me more.”
Step by step, I went through the goals and the process to accomplish those goals. I could see he was fascinated because he immediately began asking probing questions that said, “Tell me more.” I could see he caught the vision and wanted to make sure it was something that could actually be accomplished, not just some over-zealous “pipe dream.”
From there, the day got better and better. Others asked the same types of “tell me more” questions. We had the details all worked out, so the answers were easy. Not only did the project get approved, but it had the Chairman’s complete support. He wanted to be “in the loop” as each phase was completed. The meeting lasted four hours and went from the most stressful to the most triumphant day I’d ever experienced.
There’s no way to tell how the meeting would have gone had I presented the project in the manner I thought the officers were expecting. It’s clear that by presenting it honestly, I got unprecedented support I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. In this case, the honest approach, supported with facts and solid plans for success, was the right formula. I presented it “off-script,” not the way my boss had wanted me to do in reading it. Yet, I was totally, “on-script.”
Since the concept of honesty is such an important one, here are some honesty rules that should serve you well:
1. Don’t talk negatively about others in your organization. This is an extension of honesty in that you’ll be giving your honest support to others on your team. If you honestly support them, it would be dishonest to tell others about their shortcomings. People are clever enough to understand if you’re negative about someone else, you might be less than supportive of them as well.
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