Unless you do one of three things you are expendable:
- Product creation
- Sales / marketing
- Production profitability
Other jobs are importatn but are they necessary? No. There is a reason these three roles pay the most-often more than the president makes!
This becomes more critical in a down economy. The underperforming salesman is vulnerable. The receptionist is at risk. Projects managers get laid off. In other words if you are in sales/marketing, product creation, or profitibility you need to make some changes now. Find ways you can help increase sales or reduce expenses. Wait a second, I’m just the receptionist. How can I do this? Just off the top of my head I can think of several ways:
- Be a shining example of good chear when you answer the phone.
- Ask to take on inside sales responsibility.
- Find ways to save money on office supplies.
- Never waste your time reading magazines or surfing the internet. Fill your time with work.
Are you in one of the three golden jobs? My question is…are you the best? The top salesmen will rarely get laid off. The bottom performers will be among the first to go. If you aren’t at the top of your game you need to become the best. Read books on your chosen field in your spare time. Spend a few hours and identify your highest value taskes. Do those and ignore the low value items.
Some folks wonder how to hold onto their jobs, and many would like to make more money at their current job. The challenge is the same – demonstrate added value for the organization. That’s exactly what you’re driving at.
In a page from my website, I offer the following suggestions for people who want to make more money, but they also apply just as well to holding onto your job. It all boils down to being one of the key performers that contributes to company interests.
* do more work
* do more difficult work
* take on more responsibilities
* take more risks
* give extra effort
* have added value to the organization
* stay longer in your position
* achieve organizational goals
In a perfect world, these suggestions would work just fine, but we all know that we’re dealing with humans, so things like politics can derail even the best of employees. That’s where having your own business is key to success.
Clair