Are you a valuable employee?
They say, “Time is money.” But this is misleading because all minutes are not created equal. Imagine how much money people like Jeff Bezos and Oprah Winfrey make per minute and you will understand.
Are you mishandling the small things—the small jobs? As the American writer, futurist, and businessman Alvin Toffler said, “You’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.” That said, you’ve got to get your career priority right.
See, there are employees. And then there are valuable employees. They don’t get the same treatment in the marketplace. Their time is not worth the same.
Employers can quickly hire and replace average workers. It’s no big deal. It happens every day. However, replacing a valuable employee—an excellent team member—is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Similarly, losing a valuable employee creates tension. It might even lead to the loss of businesses as soon as customers notice the gap in the company’s services.
How to become a valuable employee
You might be tempted to work harder. Or work long hours. Or keep yourself busy all the time, hoping it will make you loved, respected and influential. Unfortunately, this strategy does not work. For many years, I made this mistake and lost lots of opportunities.
Being busy leads to nothing as long as employers can replace you with an average worker. However, working smarter, solving interesting problems, standing out, and doing remarkable work is priceless. It will get you noticed.
By the way, you will never have enough hours to sell to make a decent living if you fail to increase your value in the marketplace.
Have questions about how to become a valuable employee? Shoot the CBL Team an email and check out our book: Creating Winning Career Systems.
PS: A few posts that you might have missed:
- 10 Continuous Improvement Books for Professionals Who Want to be Remarkable
- A Daily Mistake That Devalues Even Smart Professionals
- Want a Rewarding Career? Avoid this Employee Performance Appraisal Trap.
