May you be intelligent, provider of wealth and
protector of the path of truth.
We talk a lot about leadership and entrepreneurship. We write often about sharpening your best tool. You! But, not nearly as much specifically about getting the work done. Important aspects of leadership involve keeping yourself focused and on-task to carry your job or vision to completion. Everyone supplies, or should supply value in their workplace. This you do either by the hours of work you provide as an employee, or with the products and services you sell in your business.
In this fragile economy, if you are an employee, a great performance review may not be enough to guarantee a promotion or even enough to help you keep your job. If you are self-employed, one or two high-quality products or services may not be enough on their own to help you stay afloat.
Give First Mentality
The “Rock” says this stuff so much more eloquently than I can. His tagline as a wrestler, in case you don’t know it, is, “Do you smell what the Rock’s been cooking?”
Value is in the eye of the observer. It is said that perception is reality. That’s not exactly accurate. But, is it true that what people perceive is what they believe to be true. Just think of how much more you would pay for an umbrella in a heavy downpour, as opposed to a sunny day. People who seem fairly easy to get along with and trustworthy with assigned tasks are more useful to their manager than someone who produces a lot of chaos, stress or dissension in team meetings. Now, the people causing the stress may have some valid points and positions, but they are for naught if they are not also perceived as getting the work done. So it stands to reason that they are also perceived as being less valuable if they miss deadlines, especially important ones, on a regular or habitual basis.
Authenticity counts
A product, any product, will be more useful to a consumer if it truly adds value to their lives, and is not destined to find its place among all of the other trinkets on the shiny toy junk pile. In these times, consumers are becoming increasingly desensitized to ads. People are on the lookout for BS. They have become increasingly wary of the bonus offers, the upsells and the added cost of necessary add-ons. They are seeking authenticity. That is what people put a premium value on these days. Authenticity.
Given the expanded competition in the job market, you need to become the best salesman of what you uniquely have to offer to a situation. You need to establish your value to your company in order to get and keep your line of work, as well as to move up to higher positions, if that’s what you want to accomplish.
These same principles hold true for our human capital as well. Do you add value and bring authenticity to the lives of people with whom you work?
Buyers are wary
In terms of products, consumers are feeling whipped and worried and are guarding their buys more cautiously. On the other hand, there seems to be a virtual flood of sales offers. Customers are being more careful at picking out the products and service they perceive to be the most useful to them, and those that they perceive to have the most value.
And worker bee or boss, the item that you need to get best at selling and offering is you. Again, back to human capital, especially in social media, people are looking for authentic connections, not just more sales people.
Once you have found ways to improve your most important product, you, and improve the sensed value of what you bring to the proverbial table, now you need to put yourself in your “customer’s” shoes. Who is your customer? You significant other, family members, manager, boss, investor. As workers and business owners, you must learn to make yourself essential to your team by demonstrating that you are interested in making valuable and useful connections.
Whether you own your own business, or a a salaried employee, the most important product that you have to offer this world is you. You do have a shelf life, though. What’s keeping you from stepping up your game, seeing your true worth, and being your true self?
Doc
Photo Credits: Aedes via Compfight cc , bortescristian via Compfight cc
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